A Deadly Fate
by ninja.universe
Summary: The Ninja encounter an old enemy that still has some burning hatred for them. It was supposed to be in and out but a gorge of Ninjago just turned into a battle field. Will they win the fight against evil? Or will they fall trying to protect those who cannot protect themselves...
1. False Alarm?

**This story takes place before the Pirate Season. Also I have Cole as the leader.**

Chapter 1

It was a peaceful morning in the Bounty, home to the heroes of Ninjago. Six ninjas as the protectors and savors of Ninjago wouldn't know at this very moment they would be awaken.

The alarms went off in the Destiny Bounty startling most and annoying one. Cole, master of earth and a ghost, was the first one up and at the door.

"Come on guys! There's an emergency!" Cole announced and received a groan from an all too annoyed Kai.

"Really Cole? Are sure its not another false alarm?!" Kai groaned standing from his bed. Cole rolled his eyes and walked through the door. "On and off that alarm has gone off for no reason waking me up!"

"Kai it wakes us up too. Also Nya checked the alarms last night, they're fine." Jay said to Kai as he followed Cole out. Lloyd didn't said anything out of tiredness and walked out. Zane waited for Kai and they went to the control room where Nya was looking from the screen and back down to the keyboard she was typing away on.

"Its another false alarm isn't it, Nya?" Kai immediately got out. Nya shook her head almost instantly.

"None of those were false alarms, Kai. I just couldn't figure out why they were going off." Nya explained and Kai sighed.

There was silence, all that was heard was Nya's fast fingers. Then that stopped and the ninja gasped. A picture of Clouse appeared on the screen.

"Clouse is behind this. He was sighted just now and he's was responsible for the other alarms too." Nya let out and Jay put a hand on his head in confusion.

"Wait wait wait! But didn't he get sent to the Cursed Realm?" Jay asked shared his confusion with the others.

Lloyd sighed, "Yeah but when I was in the Cursed Realm he was working on escaping. Maybe he got out before the realm crystal was destroyed."

"Perhaps, but we should not getting ahead of our selves. Where was he located?" Zane asked uncertain about the whole situation.

Nya clicked a couple buttons, "He was located in the plains of Ninjago by a gorge."

"There's cameras out there?!" Jay shouted even more confused.

Nya chuckled, "You wouldn't believe the range on those cameras."

"Alright, so lets go out there and kick some butt!" Kai said with a new formed smile.

"But first we should probably change." Cole stated and everyone looked down to see their pajamas. A fews mumbles of agreement spread around and soon enough it was just Kai and Nya left in the room.

Kai watched Nya type at the keyboard as if he wasn't there. He sighed, "You coming with us? We can use another set of hands."

Nya stopped typing looking down at the keyboard. She started to move her fingers across the keys again. "I wish I could but I have to stay here. I have to keep working on controlling my power. Plus I need to watch the monitors for new activity."

Kai sighed again and looked down at the floor. "That's what I thought." He mumbled, "Remember you're a ninja now, I might need you on a mission one day." He added and walked out of the room.

Nya stopped typing again and watched the door close. Even after the door was closed she watched.

* * *

Five ninja stood at the edge of the Bounty ready for a mission while one ninja watched through a window wishing them luck. One by one each other jumped off the side and their dragon materialize under neath them. Before Kai jumped he turned to the window and smiled, then jumped.

Kai formed his dragon and caught up to the others. Their destination is Ninjago's gorge where there were four sightings of Clouse. But what the cameras didn't pick up was the fact that Clouse was a ghost.

"Alright guys, form up!" Cole called to his fellow ninja. "Clouse might have an army so we need to be prepared!"

"Cole you always say that before a mission!" Kai complained as the dragons lined up next to each other.

Zane pulled up to Kai's side, "He was only warning us brother."

Kai groaned and leaned forward to rest his head on his dragon. Lloyd on the other side of the line shouted to Kai.

"You better watch where you're flying Kai!"

Kai's face went sour, calming himself he sat up straight again. "You guys are acting like I've never been on a mission before!"

"We aren't acting, you are." Jay said and Kai groaned to himself.

"We should not fight each other, I believe we should focus on the mission." Zane started and Cole nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Zane." Lloyd said and suddenly Cole swooped down with his dragon.

"What was that for?" Kai asked out of confusion and a small amount of anger.

"We're here." Zane answered bringing his dragon down. Kai felt his heart sink for a moment. The ninja dip their dragons down landing on the rock floor.

Jay gasped, "Oh my goodness look!"

Everyone's hands went to there weapons while Jay ran passed them. "Its the gorge!" The ninja's hands left their weapons. Jay got close to the edge and he looked over. "Oh man..." Jay put a hand on his chest and backed up.

The gorge was exactly what you'd except. Steep rocky mountains with a river running through it.

"Good thing I'm not scared of heights." Jay added with a nervous laugh and walked back to the others.

Lloyd eyed the area with curiosity, he wanted to find Clouse. His eyes landed on a bridge going across the gorge. Before he could point out the bridge he saw a bush move on the other side. Lloyd said nothing and started to run to the bridge.

Everyone's eyes followed Lloyd in confusion. Kai noticed the bridge first.

"Can't we just use our dragons or airjitzu to get across?" Kai looked to Cole and he shook his head.

"Save your energy plus this is safer." Cole pointed out but Kai wasn't done.

"Safer? That thing is probably a million years old! That bridge will be the death of us! The great ninja killed by a bridge! I can see it already on the newspapers!"

Cole rolled his eyes and ran to the bridge after Lloyd. When they got there Lloyd was testing out the bridge.

Jay clenched his teeth in worry. "I actually agree with Kai on this one."

Lloyd walked out on the bridge a bit. He turned to face the others and looked up at them for a brief second then started to stomp on the wood beneath him, but that wasn't enough. Lloyd started to jump on the bridge making the whole thing shake.

"Lloyd! Not a good idea!" Kai shouted to him and green ninja stop and smirked.

"The bridge is stable, lets go!" Lloyd said and started to run across the large gorge.

"Wait Lloyd!" Kai called to him, Lloyd stopped running and looked behind him. "Why are you running?"

"I saw something on the other side!" Lloyd said and right when he turned he was surprise to see an old face.

"Indeed you did Green ninja." The menace they were looking for found them first.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I have a new story! :D If you don't know who I am and you didn't come from my old account I'm Jill! I write Ninjago stories because I am a big nerd! I stopped my other account because the stories were badly written and I wanted have a fresh start. I have dyslexia so some grammar errors and misspelled things will go unnoticed. Sorry! It's hard to get inspired to write sometimes so I decided to write the entire story before I post it! So hopefully you enjoy.**


	2. Fight with Shadows

Chapter 2

Lloyd was face to face with the villain himself. Clouse, the man with dark power sought out more power. The ninja ran out on the bridge to back up Lloyd. Kai pushed his way through his friends to see Clouse himself.

Kai's eyes widened slightly to see Clouse as a ghost. He smirked to the ghost in front of him. "All I have to do to get rid of you is throw you over the ropes and you're done. Water kills ghosts."

Clouse steps up to Kai's level, "Any human or ghost would die from the drop or water. No human can touch me but I can touch you." Clouse finished that off will a punch to Kai's face. Weapons were drawn and Clouse summoned an army of ghost soldiers.

The ninja were separated by ghosts, each dealing with their own group of ghosts. All they could do was defend themselves instead of fighting back. Kai was left with Clouse as everyone was busy.

Kai drew out his sword and pointed it at Clouse. "So how can I kill you without water?"

"You can't."

Clouse drew his sword and they both pointed their blades at each other.

Kai ran to him and tried slashing at him with his sword, but Clouse only watched as the blade swished through him and his body manifested after each of Kai's swings.

"Did you forget already?! I'm a ghost," Clouse chuckled. "You cannot hit me," Clouse swung his sword at Kai in a stabbing motion and Kai batted his blade away, "but I can hit you."

Kai slowly took a few steps back and Clouse walked closer, swinging his sword, giving Kai only one option. To keep defending himself from Clouse's attacks. Clouse jumped toward Kai and kicked the red ninja back down in midair. Once Kai had regained his control and balance, Clouse backhand slapped him across the face and sent him backing away. Kai, now blind in his anger, jumped up in the air above Clouse and held his sword down, slashing the wooden boards under Clouse. Kai fell through the broken boards and hung on one of the ropes under the bridge as Clouse stood above him and chuckled. Kai quickly held his sword's blade between his teeth as he used both his hands to try climbing back up on the bridge. Once Kai started to climb back up, Clouse smirked and forcefully kicked Kai in the jaw, sending him flying back, breaking the bridge behind him. As he was forced back from Clouse's kick, Kai's back broke many of the wooden boards on the bottom of the bridge, and his arms snapped through the several ropes that intertwined between the four main ropes that stretched across the gorge and held the bridge together. Almost an entire side of the bridge had already been destroyed.

Clouse started balancing on one rope as he walked closer, while Kai hung between the two ropes at the bottom of the bridge, sword still tightly clamped between his teeth. He let out a soft groan in pain as he felt his blade cut at the corner of his mouth, creating a small slash across his cheek. Clouse swung his sword at Kai once more, and Kai jumped up in the air, dodging the swing and flying in the air over Clouse, and he landed on a wooden board on the opposite side of the bridge. Clouse ran toward him and Kai drew his sword again, as the two started to clash their blades at each other. One of Clouse's swings sent his sword slashing through one of the side ropes, the remains of the bridge started to slowly sway from side to side. Kai and Clouse both swung their blades at each other and held their blades still, the blades started to grind against each other. Then Kai aggressively swung his sword down to the side and Clouse's blade slashed through the other side rope and the bridge started to rock and sway more. They only stood on a half of the bridge, with half of the wooden boards gone, and the side ropes now dangling below the bridge down to the gorge below.

Lloyd and Jay were quickly held back by the ghost soldiers, and Zane went down along with them after putting up a short but futile effort against them. The three ninja were slowly forced back off the edge of bridge and they backed to the cliff edge as they continued desperately trying to fight off the ghosts. Cole swung his scythe around at the ghosts and managed to successfully attack the ghost soldiers; since he was a ghost, he was the only one who was able to harm the soldiers. As Lloyd swung his sword through the ghosts, he glimpsed at the bridge from the corner of his eye.

"Kai's in trouble!"

Kai started to slowly back away from Clouse as he kept desperately trying to attack him with his sword. Clouse chuckled evilly and kept swinging his sword back at Kai, sending him back with a few aggressive shoves. Kai started to get out of breath as he swung his sword desperately. He kept panting as Clouse walked to him and swung at Kai's sword with such force that it swung out of the red ninja's hands and it flew down into the gorge. Kai ran to Clouse to try punching and kicking him as he kept panting desperately.

"What's the matter, Fire Ninja?" Clouse chuckled more. "Have you had enough?"

"I- I can't- hurt you-" he backed away, still out of breath. "I feel like I'm fighting my own shadow-"

Clouse smirked, "You might as well be."

Clouse swung his sword again at Kai and he cut him in his forearm. Kai backed away with a loud groan as he held his arm in pain. Clouse started to slowly wave his hands to Kai, using a spell to reanimate one of the dangling ropes into a snake. The snake reached up to Kai, wrapping around his ankles and constricting them, tightening Kai's legs together, and knocking him down on the bridge's boards. The snake sank its fangs into one of Kai's legs and he let out a weak scream as he began to grow tired. The venom from the rope snake started to make Kai's legs go numb and he slowly fell unconscious.

The ninja all looked around as the ghost soldiers disappeared around them. Cole looked around, still holding his scythe in front of him, with the long blade pointed out toward the cliff edge.

"Where'd they all go?" Jay stopped swinging his nunchucks and held them firmly in his hands.

Zane pointed in horror at the bridge where Clouse has Kai suspended in the air, holding him up by the back of his ninja gear. Kai was completely unconscious, held just above the gorge below, Clouse holds him up at a tilt over the edge, with his toes still on the wooden boards of the bridge.

"You want to talk about sparing him?" Clouse shook Kai's body in his hand as he dangled above the gorge.

The ninja held their weapons ready.

"Okay, let's talk about it," Clause smirked. "From now on, if you don't do as I command, I will drop your friend. But then again, I really don't care about any of you. Power is not what I desire, Green Ninja! The ninja crumbling under my hands is far greater!" He let go of Kai's ninja gear and dropped him off the bridge, his unconscious body plummeted into the gorge below.

* * *

 **Hi! Hopefully every week is okay for an update! Sorry about the _cliff_ hanger. **


	3. Failed Flight

Chapter 3

"KAI!" The ninja ran to the edge of the cliff side and scanned the area for Kai but he was already gone. Cole dropped his scythe and was about to jump over the side.

"Cole wait! You're a ghost, you'll die from the water!" Jay shouted with his heart aching from the current events.

"Guys! Clouse is gone!" Lloyd observed looking out at the bridge. Cole never looked up to see, he was focused on the water.

"Forget him! We have to get Kai!" Cole lead the team on their dragons down to the bottom of the gorge. Cole stopped and hovered a little ways above the water. Zane wrapped his arms around the rope that steers his dragon. He flipped his dragon upside down and dunked his head in the river. His head did a 360 turn to scan the freezing water. Zane came out from the river and flew up to Cole. The first thing Cole noticed was that Zane's head was bent back.

"Are you alright?" Cole questioned and Zane blinked putting his hands on his head trying to bend it back in place.

Zane started to mouth words but nothing came out. Jay flew up on his dragon after flying along the river.

Jay sighed, "No sign of Kai. I'm starting to think-"

"Don't think that," Cole interrupted. "I'm going to take Zane back up to the cliff something is wrong with his system."

"Lloyd and I will continue looking." Jay stated and they separated to do different tasks. Jay flew back down to the river and sped along. Eventually he caught up with Lloyd.

No words were spoken but the look in their eyes said the same thing.

* * *

Hours later

Carried away by the river at the bottom of the gorge, Kai's body washed up ashore on a small island with the river by the side, the water's flow was disturbed by the sharp rocks that lined the gorge. Kai slowly regained consciousness and lifted his head off the rocky ground quickly and started to throw up water beneath him. Kai began to breath heavily, he looked around and behind him at the river as it raged by him.

He tried to get up on his feet, but he collapsed on his knees, the venom from Clouse's rope snake had tampered his thoughts of walking. He looked down at his leg and saw that his whole ankle had swollen up.

Kai sighed and grunted, holding his forearm in pain, looking at the slash wound created by Clouse's sword. He tore off a sleeve of his ninja gi at the other elbow and used it as a bandage, wrapping it tightly around his wounded forearm.

Kai looked back up at the two cliffs that cornered him. There was no sign of the bridge. He had been carried by the water for long distance. Kai grunts holding his head and softly rubbing a big purple bruise above his right eye. Then he rubbed the corner of his mouth where his sword had cut his lip.

The island Kai was stranded on surprisingly had life to it. The island was probably only one mile long and half a mile wide. There were trees and brush scattered around.

Kai, still on his knees started to crawl to a tree and sat underneath it. "The others will find me.. They'll find me."

Kai started to doze off but jerked awake the pain that throbbed in his leg. Kai groaned and started to stand with the help of the tree. He kept his weight off of his leg and he jumped with his good leg. Kai started to look for things to help him.

Kai found a broken branch on the ground and he began to use it as a walking stick. Kai's bad leg was his right and the cut on his arm was on his right. He struggled to walk but he kept going.

Kai thought about how he was going survive and get out of his situation but nothing came up.

'Great I'm going to die down here and the others probably think I am already dead. How did I survive anyway?' Kai sighed to himself and looked around.

"Why can't I just fly out of here?" Kai mumbled to himself but realized he could do just that. Kai stopped walking and looked up to the top of the gorge. "Its not as far as it seems. I can do this!"

Kai dropped his stick and stood only on his good leg. He swung his bad leg from his side to his front and his spun into airjitzu. Kai made it almost half way before his airjitzu disappeared. Kai panicked and formed his dragon underneath him. He almost made it to the top before his dragon disappeared as well. Kai went back into airjitzu for just enough time to grab the edge of the cliff with his good arm. Things were looking good Kai was already going to get out of the gorge!

Crack!

Kai looked up to find the piece of rock he was holding onto was breaking. Kai lifted up his bad arm and attempted to grab the rock but instead he shot fire out of his hand to get anyone's attention. A stream of smoke and fire came from where he was. Then finally the rock snapped and Kai fell down the gorge once again but to Kai it was the first time.

Kai didn't scream, he hyperventilated and attempted to get his feet underneath him. The rushing air blew his hair in every direction and his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Once his feet were underneath him, he spun into airjitzu. His first try failed and the ground was coming quick. Kai squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. He tried again and it was successful. Kai opened his eyes and saw how he stopped with the ground only feet away. Kai let out his breath and laughed to himself. He stopped his airjitzu and landed on the ground on his feet. However, his swollen leg gave out quickly and he fell to his knees. Kai's adrenaline was still running through him and he was panting out of exhaustion. He used a huge amount of his power to escape the gorge to end up back at square one.

Kai was so exhausted he lied down where he was and gave up for the day. Kai let out a sigh and fell asleep on the ground. Fortunately, someone saw his smoke trail.

* * *

 **Hello! Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story so far! Sorry this chapter was posted at night instead of the morning. Summer vacation started and I was hanging out with friends. I had this chapter already done I just needed to edit it. See you all next week! ;)**


	4. Day of Red

Chapter 4

"I swear you guys! I saw smoke over there!" Jay tried to convince his friends of what he saw. The ninja were back at the Bounty, that had moved closer to the gorge. Zane's neck was fixed and his voice modules were in order. The strong currents bent his neck back and broke a few wires. The ninja had informed Nya of her loss. Nya was grieving in her room with Lloyd comforting her. After hours of searching, Kai was never found, he wasn't declared dead yet but the team was going to do a final search the next day to at least find any evidence if him being alive somewhere.

"You keep saying that it might be Kai, just quit it Jay.. You're convincing yourself so much that he is alive. I know the truth hurts... face it... he wouldn't have survived that fall." Cole said slowly feeling his heart break. The ninja realized that danger was involved with what they did and injuries would happen but death never really crossed their minds.

Jay's heart shrank and he whispered, "Cole... I am hurt by this too.. but you have to look into this with me. It could be Kai but it also could be Clouse... I would feel weird if I didn't check it out." Jay explained softly and gently knowing how much his leader was hurting, he was blaming himself. Cole thought it was his fault because they recently fought and as leader he could have stopped it from happening.

Zane, who was standing off to the side, finally spoke up. "I agree with Jay in this situation, Cole. But I believe that this smoke Jay was telling us about is most likely gone by now."

Jay gasped of what Zane said and ran to the window to check. "Nonononoo!" Jay whined and ran from the window out to the deck quickly forming his dragon to start flying around. Cole and Zane followed as fast as they could. Jay, taking the lead, began flying toward where the smoke was. Unbeknownst to them, they had flown right above the fire ninja after awhile of flying.

* * *

Night

Kai woke up suddenly gasping for air and throwing up water on the spot he passed out in from exhaustion. He trembled and got to his knees. The fire ninja dizzily squinted at the sky and saw stars twinkling down at him. It wasn't stars from being dizzy but stars in the night sky.

If Kai wasn't stranded on the little island or freezing from the cold breeze hitting his wet ninja gi, he would actually enjoy staring at the stars. His vision cleared and his dizziness stopped for a moment. The sky was beautiful.

Kai forgot the predicament he was in for a minute and exhaled a breath of relief. Suddenly his stomach rumbled and he held his stomach in pain. He didn't have a single thing to eat the entire day and he was hungry.

When Kai let out a harsh breath of pain and from struggling to keep a steady breathing pattern, he saw his own breath from the cold. He didn't realize how cold he was because of all the pain he was in dulling it down.

From behind him he heard a shriek of an animal most likely becoming food for whatever killed it. He slowly turned his body to faced the trees and turning his back to the water. Kai never noticed how thick the woods was but he did now because of how dark it was inside.

Kai shuddered and hugged himself to keep warm and comfort himself. He shivered and stared fearfully into the darkness of the woods. He imagined creatures of unknown origins crawling around and eyes staring with deadly intensions watching him.

He curled more into himself and tucked his head in between his knees. Kai would never admit to being afraid of anything but that night he was terrified.

* * *

The Next Day

Kai was right about that rope bridge from the start. That bridge would bring "death" and it would be on the newspapers. All over Ninjago the news of Kai's death spread. Tears of fans and citizens stained the concrete. The day it was revealed Ninjago's population wore red to remember the fire ninja. The mayor wanted the ninja to come into the city to have a memorial and say a fews words to the citizens. But first the ninja were going to do another sweep of the gorge, they were going to confirm to the city if Kai was really dead.

Cole walked out of the shared bedroom wearing a black suit and a red tie in memory of Kai. The other ninja wore the same thing. Jay walked down the hallway and saw Cole fixing up his suit jacket.

Jay smiled sadly, "You look good." The small talk killed them all but it was all they could manage. Cole didn't smile back nor say anything, he just nodded.

The two walked up to the control room where Lloyd and Zane were in their suits and with a red tie. Nya was in her pajamas that consisted of a pair of black sweat pants and a red tank top. She was sitting in a chair with a tissue box next to her. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy, she recently was crying. All night she was crying and the ninja could hear it. None of them slept well. No one was talking, each waiting for someone to speak.

Cole cleared his throat, "I guess we should check the gorge again."

They nodded and Nya's eyes watered. She wouldn't be going to the memorial, she would be watching on the TV. The memorial was a huge thing to the city and it would be broad casting everywhere.

The ninja walked out to the deck and summoned their dragons. Lloyd, Zane, Jay and Cole flew slow and with their slow pace they would finally notice the little island Kai was stranded on. That was till Lloyd began to cry, that made him loose his focus and his dragon dematerialized. Zane moved quickly and catch the green ninja.

"You alright?" Zane asked the green ninja who was now on his dragon. Lloyd nodded as tears ran down his face. Lloyd sat behind Zane and he rest his head on Zane's back. The nindroid slowed down and met up with Cole, his face was showing many emotions. Sadness, worry confusion, and so on. "I am going to take Lloyd back to the Bounty to make sure he will be alright for later."

"Alright.. See you soon." Cole responded and Zane flew up above the gorge and to the Destiny Bounty. Cole wasn't really checking the gorge, he was trying not to end up like Lloyd. Crying and having his dragon disappear to fall to his unfortunate death.

"Cole you really shouldn't be down here. Do you want to go back up?" Jay questioned and Cole shrugged.

"I don't want to go back, I want to keep looking but its probably best I did." Cole confessed and Jay flew closer to him.

"Let's go before things get worse." Jay warned and Cole slowly nodded. "Plus we checked every inch of this place, I think its safe to said that-"

"He's gone.." Cole finished, it hurt to say but it came to that point where it all just ends. Jay closed his eyes and nodded.

"Let's go." Jay ended the search and they headed back to the Bounty. They didn't even know how close they were to finding their lost friend.

* * *

Kai woke in pain from his injuries and a painful grumble from his stomach. He was still curled up with his head in his knees and arms tucked between his stomach and legs. The cut on his forearm burned from being tucked away and his ankle felt terrible from the position. Kai slowly undid himself from the curled up position he was in and turned his head to his side.

He started to start to cough and his lungs ached in protest. Kai groaned after some water came up. He didn't have a plan or any idea of what was going to happen next.

Then an idea came to mind, maybe the smoke was a good idea from his attempted escape but it just needed to be bigger. Kai started to stand, he put most of his pressure on his left side and he limbed to grab branches. He began to pile the branches near where he washed up but not too close to the violent water. After struggling for a few hours on his bad leg, he managed to get a large bundle of branches of varies different sizes.

Kai sighed at his work and sat down against a tree a little bit away. Kai used up what was left of his energy and shot a fire ball at the pile and it set a blaze. He tried not to think about how hungry he was, thinking about it made it worse. Kai didn't wish to hunt animals after his scare from last night. He didn't know anything about the plants or what was eatable so he decided to play it safe and not eat.

After some time, Kai began to notice his blinks got long and darker, he was falling asleep. Before Kai could stop himself from sleeping, he was asleep. The bump and bruise above his right eye ached against his skull while he slept. From a distance he would appear to be dead but up close you could see him shaking from an on coming sickness.

* * *

At the memorial

The citizens of Ninjago gathered in the park that would normally make happy memories but this day everyone wore blacks and reds. Children crying in their parents hold. The master of Fire was dead.

The ninja, excluding Nya and all obvious Kai, were back stage behind a curtain of red. A stage was put up in the park and the curtain separated the ninja from being seen.

At the moment Jay was having a break down like Lloyd did on his dragon. People who were working back stage offered a chair, tissues and water to him while the ninja comforted him and each other. The mayor walked out from the stage and behind the curtains.

"Whenever you're ready." The mayor said softly and patted Cole's shoulder. The mayor walked away to give them some time. Jay stopped crying but his face was red and puffy. Lloyd's face was red from crying before but not has much as Jay.

"You guys ready?" Cole asked quietly but he knew that they weren't ready. They weren't ready to lose a friend nor go out and talk about it. Jay nodded anyways. "Do any of you need to say something before we go out there?"

Zane stepped forward and held out a hand for Jay helping him stand. "Kai would not want us to be sad. He would want us to keep moving and stop Clouse. He will be remember for being a skilled ninja and more amazing brother. He.. he would want us to take care of his sister as well." Zane explained but lowered his voice in the end.

Lloyd nodded in agreement and Jay looked at the ground. "Thank you, Zane. Now let's go." Cole said despite the way he felt and walked out on stage with his friends following. Normally when the citizens of Ninjago saw the ninja, cheers would be heard but today it was silent. Cole walked up to the podium and rested his hands on the top to stop himself from shaking. Lloyd, Jay, and Zane stood on one side of the podium standing tall that showed the crowd even one ninja down they were still strong. Cole looked down and felt all eyes on him, eventually he looked up and stared into the crowd. It all sank in at that moment, Kai was gone and now here he was going to say a few words about it. Cole felt himself ready to cry but he knew he couldn't cry because he was a ghost.

"Standing here today makes me realize how real this is. This wasn't just any ordinary ninja, this was Kai, the Fire Ninja. He sacrificed his life in a mission to protect Ninjago and that will not go to waste. He was a skilled fighter and he was excellent in spinjitsu, but he was also self-centered, hot-headed, and often controlling, and maybe a bit of a jerk sometimes. But that's what made him special, that arrogant fighter was our friend and fellow ninja. And we all loved him like a brother. He was an honorable ninja but now- now-"

Buzz!

Cole closed his eyes knowing very well what that sound was. The sad moment was ruined by a mission alert on his communicator that was sent by Nya.

"I'm sorry everyone, we have a mission." Cole explained and walked to the others who crowded around him. "Come on guys."

Cole spun into airjitzu and formed his dragon under neath him, the others copied his movement and flew away quickly to the Bounty. Jay sped up to Cole's side.

"So we are going to leave the memorial?!" Jay shouted in confusion and Cole looked over to his friend.

"Of course, no matter what happens, we are ninja and we need to protect Ninjago." Cole stated and Zane flew up to Cole's side.

"That was nice what you said about Kai." Zane complimented and Cole looked to him and saw the nindroid had artificial tears in his eyes. The rest of the flight was silent.

* * *

 **Hi.. :)**

 **Bye**


	5. Burning Hope

Chapter 5

The ninja made it to the Bounty at the gorge and immediately saw the issue. Nya ran out on the deck and greeted the ninja with her frantic words.

"There's more smoke and I was going to check it out myself but I thought if it was Clouse wouldn't be able to deal with him." Nya said really quickly and Cole held up his hands and shushed her softly.

"Hey, its okay. You did the right thing." Cole said quietly to calm Nya down.

"B-but you guys were at the memorial!" Nya tried to fight but Cole shook his head and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry about. Now we have to change. You coming?" Cole questioned and he removed his hands from her shoulders.

She looked away with tears threatening to fall, "I better not."

Cole shrugged lightly, "If you say so. Lets go." The ninja left to their bedroom and performed spinjitzu into their ninja gi. They strapped their weapons on and headed out to the deck again. Nya was back in the control room looking out the window watching them leave. One by one the ninja jumped over the side and formed their dragons. Cole looked over to the window and smile to Nya before jumping. This brought her to tears because that was the last thing Kai did before he left and didn't return.

The ninja glided towards the huge smoke trail and didn't bother to pull their hoods up. "Do you believe its Clouse?"

Cole turned to see Zane, "I honestly don't know. Hopefully we didn't leave the memorial for nothing."

"It would not be entirely for nothing, we are doing this because its our duty to protect Ninjago. That is if it happens to be Clouse." Zane reassured and Cole smiled softly to him.

"Well said Zane." Cole said but with the air rushing by his voice was almost drowned out. "I don't think I would have be able to say anymore at the memorial anyway..."

"Cole, we are all here for you." Zane tried his best to comfort and that was enough for Cole to tear up.

"Thank you"

* * *

Kai woke up gagging up more water at his side. He puked up water and hints of blood. When he finished puking he coughed till he could barely breathe. He trembled and his breaths were harsh against his throat.

Kai hadn't had anything to eat or drink in what he assumed days. He had a huge rushing water source near him but he was afraid of being swept away and drowning. He never thought in his life he would be afraid of something like water.

Kai groaned in exhaustion, he was so tried of waking up puking. His eyes trailed up to his raging fire and realized he must have not slept long because it was still ablaze. He rolled onto his knees to crawled closer to it from a sudden chill that went through his body.

'So this is the end of the master of Fire? Stranded in a gorge on a pathetic little island.' Kai lied on his side next to the fire and curled up into a ball. He scoffed at himself. He honestly didn't think this was how he was going out.

Kai couldn't control the painful coughs that followed after his previous thoughts. His coughs sent sand onto his face and into his mouth.

Kai groaned in annoyance and had a sad attempt to spit the sand out with a dry mouth. His vision started to get hazy and Kai slowly and shakily brought his hand up to his forehead and tried to smack it but it was too light.

Kai started to breathe harshly thinking that if he fell asleep he wouldn't awake up again. He groaned again and tried to push himself up but his arms were shaking so bad, he barely moved.

His heart ached thinking about his brothers and his vision blurred more from on coming tears. He turned back onto his side facing the fire and he slowly reached out for the flames as his vision turned black.

Like a switch being flipped, Kai's eyes opened wide. His hand rested on the blaze wood pieces. He couldn't find the strength to scream in pain, he just opened his mouth in shock. He grimaced swiping his hand from the flames. At the sight of his burnt and blistering hand he felt the urge to throw up and he did. He barely propped himself up on his bad arm and he threw up some more water and blood.

'How much more water am I going to throw up?' Kai groaned in pain. His chest felt like it was going to collapse if he kept throwing up and coughing. 'I didn't think I could burn myself with my own element.'

Kai wheezed from all the pain that consisted of his swollen ankle from the rope snake, the sword slash on his forearm and mouth, the burn on his hand, his chest and throat from the coughing and throwing up, his head from the bump and bruise, and stomach from the loss of food.

Kai slowly rolled onto his back away from the throw up and fire to stare up at the sky. His vision constantly blurred and focused to his annoyance but he did nothing knowing it wouldn't stop. His breaths were harsh and raspy and made a terrible sound.

'At least I can kept my eyes open.' Kai thought to himself knowing that the longer his eyes were open the longer he kept himself alive.

Kai moved his burnt hand to rest on his chest and his eyes traveled to watch the smoke, still thick and moving upwards. His eyes were getting harder to keep open from the dizziness that came from slight movement of his eyes to watch the smoke. His vision danced with dots but some of the dots got bigger and moving.

* * *

 **Hey! Another week, another chapter. :) Please review your thoughts so I know that this story is alright. Sometimes I feel like I am posting just for myself.**

 **Do you like the story?**

 **Thank you! :)**


	6. Be Brave

Chapter 6

The ninja on their dragons got closer to the smoke and didn't exactly know what to expect. After finding out that the trail was coming from the inside of the gorge it made the team uncomfortable. They continued to head towards the smoke trail from above the gorge because it was easier to see.

Eventually when they were close to the smoke to not loose it they dove down into the gorge with caution. A wave of confusion and shock spread across the ninja.

"Is that an island?! How did we miss that!" Jay shouted in confusion and guilt of not ever seeing it before. He swooped down with his dragon faster and let it disappear only feet from the ground. He landed on the sand and his heart sank when his eyes followed the smoke to the fire and a body.

The other followed closely behind and saw what made Jay stand frozen. Lloyd was the first to start running towards the bundle of wood of fire. The fire wasn't what concerned them it was the figure laying next to it. Zane and Cole ran after Lloyd and Jay trailed after he snapped out of his shock. Lloyd dropped to his knees next to the body and teared up. He turned his head to his friends that were racing over.

"It's Kai!" Lloyd cried and he began to shake in fear. He saw a blood line come from Kai mouth and knew it was a bad sign. Lloyd's hands were shaking too bad that it would be impossible to find a pulse. He moved Kai's hand gently to rest his ear to his chest to listen to a heart beat. He eyes over flowed with tears. "He's alive!" His voice cracked and he sobbed.

Cole sank to his knees next to Lloyd and by Kai's head. He looked around for a plan of action. "Zane! Put out the fire! Jay! I need your help!"

Jay went to the other side of Kai's body and almost stepped in the throw up. "Oh my goodness.." he whispered with tears in his eyes.

Cole notice how everyone was close to tears or in tears so he stepped into action. "It's alright everyone. Look at me." Everyone turned to Cole and Zane settled by Kai's feet with the fire completely put out with ice. "I need everyone to focus. I know this is bad right now but let's put on our brave faces and be ninja. Instead of brothers right now I need ninja. Ok? I need you guys to be brave for Kai."

There were nods all around and Cole sighed. "Ok so Kai as a few visible injuries. So we need to be careful. There might be more internal injuries to take into account. Zane can you scan him?"

"Certainly," Zane's eyes projected a beam of light that went over Kai's body. "He has a mild concussion, Pulmonary Edema... " Zane glanced down at the water and blood mixture next to Jay, "..Emesis, Polyphagia, throat irritation, a laceration on his arm, a second-degree burn, and a snake bite."

Jay nervously looked Kai over. "What do some of those terms mean?" On a normal day Jay would get upset with Zane for the fancy words and remind him that he isn't a walking computer but he never brought it up.

"Pulmonary Edema is water in his lungs. Emesis is throwing up and Polyphagia is hunger." Zane explained simply and some eyes glanced to the water and blood. "Because of the water in his lungs it is harder for him to breathe laying down. That is why he is wheezing."

The other three ninja rushed to sit Kai up but they were gentle. Cole held Kai up and his head fell forward. Suddenly Kai started to cough violently and his body began to shake.

"The coughing and throwing up is what cause his throat irritation. He certainly will be having pains in his chest and throat." Zane pointed out and stood up. "Can one of you carry him? Keep in mind that you need to have him sitting up and avoid touching his snake bite. The venom is still in his system and will feel like fire."

Before Cole could maneuver his arm underneath Kai's legs he fell to his side and held his chest. He coughed worse than before and his breath was caught in his throat. Cole was at his side and patting his back. Kai threw up blood and water and sucked in a deep and desperate breathe.

"Sit him up." Zane said quietly in distress. He was fiddling was his ninja gi and watched Cole sit him up.

"Kai?" Lloyd whispered as Cole began to lift Kai up. Kai's eyes squeezed tight and relaxed then start to fidget again.

"Lloyd I want you to watch Kai on the way to the bounty." Cole turned to Lloyd and offered Kai over.

Lloyd moved to hold him. "Why? Something wrong?"

"He is probably sick and I don't want him flying with an ice ninja. I can barely control my ghost form and hold him. Jay is too emotional and your elemental power is ours rolled into one so if you have fire in you I want you to use it to keep him warm." Cole explained like it was so easy. Lloyd glance to Zane who gave him a reassuring smile and Jay who still had tears in his eyes.

"O-ok," Lloyd responded quietly and Cole could see the little kid in him.

"Lloyd, everything is going to be alright. You are going to ride on the back of Zane's dragon and Jay you are riding with me." Cole convinced and Jay looked to Cole in confusion.

"You just said you can barely control your human form and now you want me to fly high in the air on your dragon?!" Jay said forgetting that he was just crying. Cole formed his dragon on the sand and patted the spot behind him.

"Yup. Just do it I know you can barely control your emotions right now."

"You were almost crying on the way here! You were sad because of the memorial! Maybe I don't trust your emotions!" Jay exclaimed throwing his arms around dramatically.

"I can't cry, I'm a ghost remember?" Cole ended the little argument. Jay grumbled and jumped up to sit behind him. In reality Jay was a bit relieved his didn't have to fly to the bounty.

Zane's dragon appeared and he lowered it to allowed Lloyd with Kai on. They all took off quickly to the bounty and Lloyd watched over Kai. Lloyd had his back resting against Zane's back so that there was a barrier between the cold ice ninja and Kai. It was challenging to keep Kai sitting up so it didn't hurt for him to breathe but he eventually shifted Kai to rest between his legs. Kai's back was up against Lloyd's stomach and his head rested on Lloyd right shoulder.

During the ride Lloyd heard Kai groan and start coughing again. Lloyd went to comfort Kai without causing him any pain. He rested his hand on the side on Kai's face and pushed away some of the hair that was falling onto his face.

"It's going to be okay Kai." Lloyd whispered to his unconscious friend and he rested his hand on Kai's forehead to provide any warmth he could. Lloyd's other arm was wrapped around Kai's torso carefully to make sure he didn't fall off the elemental dragon.

Kai's eyebrows moved and he left out a breath. "they..w-will find...me" Kai suddenly said with a scratchy voice. After Kai spoke, coughs followed and Lloyd was in shock that he heard Kai speak. He noticed that Kai was still unconscious and probably said that to comfort himself.

"It's alright buddy. We got you." Lloyd whispered reasurringly to Kai. With the hand that was on Kai's forehead he carefully ran his hand over Kai's hair. The product that normally had his hair spiked was washed out and made the hair tangled and crusty.

Cole and Jay followed behind Zane's dragon to keep an eye on Lloyd and Kai to make sure everything was ok.

"He doesn't look so good... What are we going to tell Nya?" Jay asked from behind Cole. He was looking around Cole at Kai and had his hands on Cole's shoulders.

"We'll tell her to good news that we found Kai. He might not be in the best condition but we will do everything we can to get him back on his feet." Cole said determined but if Jay saw his face he would see that Cole was worried and maybe scared for Kai.

The Zane and Cole flew up to be above the gorge. They headed straight for the Destiny's Bounty but not without a pair of suspicious eyes watching them fly by.

"It seems the ninja have found the master of fire. I believe it is time to pay them a visit."

* * *

 **Hello! Thank you all so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it. :) It helps me know that people like my story. Also there may or may not be a chapter next week. I have been incredibly busy so I hope you understand.**


	7. Dangerous Territory

Chapter 7

The ninja had the Bounty in their sight and they were so eager to get aboard and help Kai. It was like time went faster and in a blur they arrived. Zane's dragon landed softly on the deck to allow Lloyd to slip off carefully with Kai. Cole's dragon disappear mid air, Cole and Jay landed on their feet next to Zane's dragon.

Lloyd moved his arm to slip under Kai's knees and the other supporting his back. Kai's head fell against Lloyd's shoulder and he groaned quietly in his sleep. Lloyd moved his right leg to be on the same side as his other leg and he slowly slid down the dragon onto the Bounty.

Cole and Jay waited at the bottom of the dragon with their arms outstretched incase Lloyd toppled over with Kai.

"What happened? Was it Clouse?!" The ninja heard Nya call. Zane's dragon disappeared and that let Nya see her brother. She gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Her eyes watered and she ran to Lloyd's side. "I-is that really him?! You found him?!" Nya barely made out. She rested her hand on Kai's arm hesitantly, afraid that he was injured.

"Yes.. we found him. But he is not in the best condition. We need to-" Zane was cut off by the Bounty shifting and creaking. It was almost like an earthquake that was only on the Bounty.

"Uhh.. Nya? Did you put the ship in park?" Jay laughed nervously. Looking around for the cause of the Bounty's sudden movement.

"The Bounty hasn't been in the air in days." Nya explained and the ninja were on edge. No one spoke, they listened as the Bounty continued to creak. Suddenly the boosters that allowed the Destiny's Bounty to take flight were turned on and the ship began to rise shakily. Lloyd went down onto his knees purposely to make sure Kai wouldn't fall from his arms.

"What's happening?" Cole exclaimed and the ninja had their arms spread out to keep their balance.

" _I'll tell you what's happening. The continuation of our battle, where none of you survive."_ A new voice joined in over the intercom and the ninja's eyes landed on Clouse through the control room's main window.

"Really?! Can't this guy give us a break?!" Jay yelled in anger and glared to Clouse. The Bounty was now in the clouds and it came to a stop.

" _You seem to be upset Lightning Ninja. Perhaps you can use that to fuel you in battle. Oh but you can see where that landed the master of fire."_ Clouse chuckled evilly and left the control room and walked onto the deck. He stopped to stand before the ninja.

"Nya," Lloyd whispered and caught her attention. She had fear and concern in her eyes. Nya got on her knees on the other side of Kai and went to gather her brother in her arms. "No. We need your water power, Nya. We need you."

Clouse saw the whispering activity and took a step forward with his hands behind his back. The ninja hands instantly went up in defense, their elements making a appearance around their hands. Clouse simply chuckled and looked past them to Lloyd and Nya.

"I actually believed the Fire Ninja to be dead, but clumsy me didn't do the job throughly." Clouse raised his hands and cracked his knuckles with a unnerving smile. "Just gives me the chance to take you all out."

Nya felt a new anger burn inside of her. "You will pay for what you did to Kai!"

Clouse continued to smile, "A fight is more interesting when it's driven by anger. Poor Kai was furious he couldn't land a hit on a ghost."

"I'll show you a hit." Nya stood up and quickly sprayed water in Clouse's direction. The ghost disappeared and reappeared a few feet away from the puddle.

Clouse looked down at the water and seemed to study it. "Hmm no surprise factor in the attack but an appearance of elemental power. I'll give it a 3 of 10. However, I didn't know you had an elemental power but now I know your best trick. So unfortunate." Clouse mocked and Nya started to walked forward to take him out herself but was held back by Cole.

"If we're going to fight, we're going to fight as a team." Cole said and released her arm. She relaxed knowing the team wanted to fight him as much as she did.

"Trying to calm the wild fire in her but you don't see that everyone has a burning determination in them. Dangerous territory." Clouse motioned to the team and Cole scanned over his team to see that all of them were holding themselves back from fighting. Surprisingly even Zane looked ready to lung at the ghost.

"Guys, he is just trying to rally you up to strike first. Anger makes you blind to the situation at hand. Don't let him get under your skin and loose focus." Cole encouraged and he watched Jay's shoulders drop. Zane looked to Cole and nod with a new determination. Cole was next to Nya and he heard her let out a breath.

"Perhaps you did calm the fire but it is only a matter of time till you loose the master of fire." Clouse's words had all of the ninja turned their heads to Lloyd and Kai. Clouse was right, Kai was looking pale and he was sweating in Lloyd's arms.

While the ninja were thrown off for a few seconds, Clouse made his move.

* * *

 **Hello! Sorry this chapter is shorter than I would like it but I almost didn't update at all. I'm on summer vacation and I have been traveling and seeing family. Next month is going to be extremely busy for me so I am going to write as much as I can now. Enjoy. :)**


	8. Fight For Your Life

Chapter 8

The ninja watched as Kai got paler seemingly before their eyes. His skin glistened from the sweat. The ninja were each affected by the afternoon sun but it didn't bother them like the sick Kai.

Cole quickly regained his composure and sighed out of stress. He turned his head remembering that they had company aboard the Destiny Bounty but he was too late.

Cole turned his head right into Clouse's punch. The impact was so hard that it sent him to the ground on his side. Cole held his jaw and let out a short cry of pain. Lucky that snapped the others out of their worry for Kai.

Cole rubbed his jaw and continued to open and close his mouth to test the pain and movement. Cole watched his team radiate with anger and Jay took a step forward to the front of the group. He stood protectively over Cole and glanced down quickly at him to make sure his ghost friend was okay. All in a matter of seconds Jay charged at Clouse.

Jay's right fist was enclosed with lightning and he swung at Clouse. His fist fazed right through Clouse's body but he didn't hesitate to swing his other fist. The same result came and he froze with his fists ready. Jay panted in confusion and his eyes traced along Clouse. The menace didn't even move his spot!

'He's a ghost..dang it.' Jay said to himself and mentally face palmed. Clouse smirked and stared at Jay with disapproving eyes. Before Clouse could make a snarky comment, Nya jumped to Jay's side.

Instead of Nya throwing punches, she sprayed water in his direction. Of course he kept disappearing but Nya made sure to keep shooting water at him and at the ground. Clouse was disappearing and reappearing all over the deck and that is when Zane saw his chance.

Zane froze the water that Nya sprayed on the ground making it a slippery battleground. When Clouse reappeared from Nya's nonstop attacks he slipped on the ice and landed on his back. While Clouse was gathering himself from the ground Jay lunged at him because his body was becoming a solid form so he could stand up.

Jay barreled into Clouse because he couldn't control himself on the ice. The two began to wrestle and Jay was onto top of the half solid ghost. Jay moved to punch Clouse but the ghost went transparent and Jay cracked the ice under him instead.

Jay's knuckle was cut up and started to bleed from the sharp ice shards he made. The ninja grabbed his hand and his mouth was wide in pain. All that came from Jay was a small squeak of pain. Clouse stood up while going through Jay and he turned to Zane who was advancing to him.

"You only made it easier for me by getting rid of what can kill me!" Clouse shouted and let Zane try to attack his ghost form.

* * *

Cole slowly stood from the ground with a new headache. He still held his jaw and glance to Lloyd holding Kai. "Get him out of here!"

Lloyd nodded and picked up Kai. Cole covered Lloyd's back incase Clouse decided to attack them. At the moment Clouse was distracted by the ice and now Jay attacking him on the ground.

Lloyd moved carefully on the ice to prevent from falling. A few times his feet lost its grip on the floor and he would stagger. Lloyd never fell despite that and he made it to the beginning of the hallway. He couldn't get much farther because he knew the other ninja needed him. He decided that Kai would be fine at that distance and returned to fight.

Now all the ninja, minus Kai, stood on the ice ready to fight. They stood in a defensive position and sometimes they would fall from their position from loosing their grip on the ice. Zane had no troubles and could shift his feet at his will.

All at once the ninja sprang into attack. Zane preformed Spinjitzu and went for Clouse's right side. Jay glided on the ice as if he was skating and went to the opposite side of Zane. Nya ran straight to Clouse with water surrounding her fists. Cole and Lloyd were backup incase one of the others were pushed away.

Clouse dodged Zane's Spinjitzu and made his foot solid to trip Zane. The Spinjitzu disappeared and Zane fell hard onto the ice. Jay and Nya were there to continue the attack. Nya shot water from the side and Jay tried his best to punch the ghost. Clouse disappeared and reappeared behind Nya. He made his arm solid and he punched the back of her head.

Nya was knocked unconscious and her body began to fall forward. Zane was standing now and he and Jay grabbed her before she hit the ground. Jay and Zane were crouched on the ice to flip Nya over and hold her.

Cole and Lloyd jumped in to fight Clouse while the others took care of Nya. Cole actually landed hits on Clouse because he was a ghost too. Lloyd was trying his best to distract Clouse from getting to the others.

Just because Cole landed hits didn't mean Clouse was affected and he was also getting hit too. Clouse landed a powerful punch to Cole's chest and he staggered back. While Cole was distracted, Clouse spun around and kicked Lloyd in the face. Lloyd was knocked to the ground and he held his face. Zane walked to Cole and put a hand on his shoulder to check to see if he was ok. They were the only ninja standing and Cole stood straight and had a hand on his chest.

Clouse chuckled and watched the weakened ninja. "What a sight to see! The ninja have fallen and I stand victorious!" Clouse laughed evilly and his head tipped back to look to the sky. Cole clinched his teeth and he shock in the anger.

"We're not done yet. You can't break us down! Ninja never quit!" Cole yelled to Clouse and he flinched from the pain in his chest. Lloyd sat up from the ground, holding his head and Jay looked to Cole while holding Nya. He nodded in agreement to Cole but before they could attack, Clouse screamed in pain.

They quickly turned their heads to Clouse who was sizzling and melting before them. He eventually poofed away with green ghost goo going everywhere and he was gone. When Clouse disappeared they could see someone leaning on a wall behind where Clouse was.

* * *

 **Hello! This chapter is a bit later in the day but it's because I was busy today. Luckily I got this chapter up today. :)**

 **What do you think happened to Clouse? Who was behind Clouse?**


	9. No Contact

Chapter 9

Everything hurt and was fuzzy. Kai could hear voices in the distance and the sounds of fighting. Kai groaned and rolled off of the wall he was resting on. He laid on his stomach and coughed onto the ground.

'They... need me.' Kai thought to himself, despite his confusion. He didn't know what was going on but he could hear the fighting. After coughing up some blood, Kai began to crawl out of the hallway he was in. While crawling he was careful of the cut on his right forearm and the burn on his left hand.

Kai groaned as he was running out of energy. He stopped to panted. He looked up and tried to see through the blurs. He was still deeply confused. Kai saw a ghost hurt his friends and knew he had to do something. He couldn't make out who was who or what was happening but he did know that his friends needed him.

Kai pushed himself up to his knees and struggled to stay up. He ended up just leaning on the wall and moving slowing on his knees to the deck. Once he saw the fighting stop he shakily moved his foot to the ground. It was like he was learning to walk for the first time and he wouldn't be able to do it without the wall supporting him.

Both feet were underneath him, he wasn't standing at his full height just yet. While leaning on the wall, he stepped forward. His snake bite, on his right leg, made him limp and it hurt to move but he continued. Each step was like a separate task and took a lot of thought and effort.

Even though Kai was confused he kept going. Kai didn't remember how he was hurt or who was fighting the ninja but he somehow knew what to do.

Kai moved so his back was on the wall instead of his side and he was now facing the bad guy. Kai saw the ice on the ground and his hurt friends through the cloud of confusion.

'All I need is one shot..' Kai thought and he raised his arm. He lifted his right arm and it shook like a twig in a storm. Kai let out a sigh and his arm fell to his side.

Kai was breathing like he ran a marathon and he shut his eyes in exhaustion. He was going to fall unconscious soon if he didn't do something. He raised his arm again and with his determination it was less shaky.

Kai took a deep breath and shot a small fireball at the ghost. He saw the fireball land at the ghost's feet and start to melt away the ice underneath him.

Ice melting turned to water under the bad guy's feet. The ghost screamed in pain but Kai barely heard it as he finally allowed him to rest. His head fell to the wall behind him and he sank to the ground unconscious.

* * *

The ninja didn't really understand what they just saw. Clouse just turned into green ectoplasm and Kai was unconscious behind it. The ice was turned to water where Clouse was. It was the ultimate ninja surprise attack.. by an unconscious ninja. Clouse thought he had the situation under control but he didn't even consider Kai into the equation because he was thought Kai was weak.

Jay slowly stood up from Nya's body with his jaw dropped. "Did he.. did that- uuh what!" Jay exclaimed in confusion while gesturing dramatic to the ectoplasm and Kai.

Zane had both of his hands on Cole's arm from when he was helping Cole but now it was more comfort for himself. "I...l don't have an explanation for that." Zane said without taking his eyes off of Kai.

Lloyd was still on the ground holding his head and he was the first to move forward to Kai. With one hand holding his throbbing head and the other hand checked Kai's pulse. Lloyd sighed, "He's fine but he still really needs medical attention."

"Do you think we can take care of him aboard the Bounty?" Cole asked Zane who was still attached to his arm. Cole still had his hand to his chest from the pain and he continued to have pain in his jaw from the punch.

Zane shook his head, "We can't provide the help necessary from the water in his lungs. We would need chest x-rays, medication and a breathing machine."

Jay crouched down and picked up Nya. She was still in her sweat pants and red tank top from that morning. He moved her to rest up against the walk next to Kai.

Zane moved over to Lloyd and sat with him, Jay, Nya, and Kai. Cole began to walk his way to the bridge. "I got to make a few phone calls."

Zane, Lloyd, and Jay stayed on the deck watching over Kai and Nya. Cole was on the phone in the bridge waiting for his friend to pick up.

"Cole! Are you okay pal? You guys rushed off in a hurry during Kai's memorial." The voice of the brown ninja, Dareth, was on the other end of the phone.

"Dareth, listen. I need you to get us a private hospital room with high security." Cole said quickly and you could practically hear Dareth's worry and confusion.

"What happened? Did that mission get one of you guys hurt? I'm starting to think you ninja need a break. First Kai and now someone else? As your manager I believe you all need time off to grieve. If you need a break I would happily step in to help." Dareth insisted but Cole shook his head even if Dareth couldn't see it.

"Nice try, Dareth. We found Kai and he's alive. But he isn't in the best of shape." Cole couldn't explain anything about the condition he was in.

"That's great! Wow it must really be bad! The only time the ninja go to the hospital is to visit sick kids!" Dareth shouted over the phone. Cole cringed at the sound and rolled his eyes.

"Just get us a room please and let them know it's for us and that the Destiny's Bounty is coming. I need to make another call, Dareth. I'll see you at the hospital. Oh and don't tell anyone about Kai yet." Cole said and tapped his fingers on the table nervously.

"Alright. You can count on me! Go ninja go!" Dareth chanted and ended the call. That made Cole smile a bit and he went to call the next person.

"Hello? I heard what happened to Kai and I am sorry for your loss." Misako picked up the phone and Cole leaned over the table to rest his head on his hand.

"Hi Misako. I just want to let you know that Kai is alive and we are heading to the hospital with him right now. I have a question Misako, do you have contact with Sensei Wu?" Cole said in a mouthful.

"I'm glad to hear about Kai. But I'm sorry to say I don't have contact with Wu. Why?" Misako asked and Cole moved up from leaning over the table to turn around and sit on it.

"Well... we haven't seen Sensei Wu in a week and a half because he went on one of his secret missions. I thought that he would be back by now and especially if he heard about Kai. But he isn't back yet." Cole explained and swung his hanging legs.

"All I can say is to be patient. It's not like Wu has any internet connection with him. I'll meet you all at the hospital. Good luck." Misako ended the call and Cole sighed. He put the phone back in it's place and went to the Bounty's control to move the flying ship towards Ninjago City. It wouldn't be too hard because the Destiny's Bounty was already in the air. With a few presses of the buttons the ship began to move.

* * *

 **Hi! I've been itching to post the next few chapters and it takes a lot from me to not post early. :)**

 **What do you think will happen next?**


	10. Sudden Stagger

Chapter 10

"We are live outside of Ninjago's hospital with the news that the protecters of Ninjago, the ninja, are inside! Earlier this morning was a memorial for the lovable Kai Smith who was the fire ninja. During the memorial, the ninja were called off for a mission and hours later they were spotted at the hospital! The Destiny's Bounty, the ninja's house and transportation, is currently above the hospital. Look at the crowds the ninja have attracted!" Gayle Gossip, the Ninjago news channel was filming outside the front doors of the hospital with tons of fangirls screaming and crying, wanting to get inside. The crowd was huge and blocking the doors. It was creating a serious hazard for those who really needed medical attention.

Pushing through the crowd was Dareth with a bag of food in his hand. He continuously muttered, "Excuse me" "Sorry" or "Coming through" as he tried to get to the doors.

Gayle Gossip saw Dareth and grabbed his wrist. She pulled him to the camera and shoved a microphone in his face. "You are close to the ninja right?! You have been spotted with the ninja on multiple occasions. Are you visiting the ninja now?! Is Ninjago threatened by another villain?! Will the ninja be well enough to protect Ninjago?!"

Dareth put on his best poker face and shook his head. Normally in front of the cameras he would smile and answer questions but for the ninja he couldn't. "Sorry pretty lady but those aren't my questions to answer."

After saying that he darted away into the crowd so he wouldn't be pressured to talk. The crowd was so cramped that he had to move the food to be up against his chest while he walked. After sometimes he made it to the doors. Only visitors and patients were allowed in and when the security spotted Dareth they let him in.

Once inside the building, he placed the food onto a near by chair to double over and dramatically to catch his breath. "Man those ninjas owe me big time." He murmured to himself and stood up straight to continue on. Grabbing the food he was lead to the door to go to the back. Before he could go back he saw a girl that was dressed like Nya come in.

She readjusted her obvious wig and straightened her dress that was almost identical to Nya's. She walked up to the front desk and cleared her throat. "I'm here to see the ninja."

Dareth rolled his eyes and almost left to continue to his friends. Dareth had the door open and he was half way through it but he was curious to see what would happen. The security guard was waiting patiently for Dareth.

The receptionist looked up from her papers and didn't look fazed by the girl. "Security!" The guards from the doors came and the Nya lookalike was escorted out.

Dareth finished walking through the door and the security guard lead him on. After countless turns and rides in the elevator Dareth ended up in front of a secured door. The security guard scanned his badge, typed in a code and the door opened. On the other side was a private waiting room seating only the ninja. There were two other doors in the waiting room. One was not labeled and the other was employees only. The room was bland and had no decorations or windows.

Dareth sighed and set the food on the chair next to Cole. A TV in the ceiling corner was showing the live news outside the hospital.

Cole had his elbows resting on his knees and his chin resting in his hands. The position made him lean way forward and he stared in the distance looking lost.

Lloyd was next to him with his legs crossed on the chair. One elbow was on the arm rest and he was looking down at his lap.

Two chairs down was Zane with his head leaning back, up against the wall. His body posture was incredible slouched for being a nindroid. His eyes were closed and his arms were draped over both sets of arm rests.

In the next row of chairs facing the others was Jay. He was sitting sideways in one chair and his legs were going over the arm rests and onto the next chair. His upper half was leaning on the chair back and he looked to be sleeping.

Dareth sat on the other side of the food next to Cole. "I brought some food. I didn't know if you guys were hungry but I figured if we were waiting long that food would come in handy."

Cole turned his head, that was still in his hands, to Dareth. With a blank face and whispered, "Thanks."

Dareth looked around the dull and soundless room. The TV was now static from the news report ending. "Where's Nya?" He decided to whispered back to Cole.

Cole sat up in his chair and stretched his arms. "We brought her down here with Kai and the doctors just took her away. We didn't think anything was wrong with her but they insisted that they put her in a bed till she woke up." Cole whispered to Dareth and noticed he looked lost. "She was knocked unconscious."

Dareth made an O with his mouth and nodded his head understanding. Cole looked over to Jay and watched for a minute.

Cole focused back to Dareth. He began to quietly whisper, "Jay has been worrying this whole time about Nya and Kai. He couldn't stop thinking about how he could have prevented this. He eventually wore himself out."

Dareth noticed how relaxed Jay's body looked. His face however was stained with tears and he wore a frown in his sleep. His eyes moved to the other ninja to Cole's left. "What about the others?"

Cole turned around to look at Lloyd and Zane. He spun back to Dareth and looked him in the eyes. "Lloyd is worried like the rest of us and Zane said something about resetting his systems. He took a hard hit. We all did."

At that moment, Cole gasped for a breath and he grabbed at his chest. It caused Lloyd to look up and Jay to twitch in his sleep. Dareth leaned closer to Cole and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Dareth didn't bother with the whispering. Cole had his eyes screwed shut and his teeth were clinched. He didn't move to answer but his breathing got heavy and jagged.

Lloyd sat up in his seat and his legs fell from the chair. He put a hand on Cole's other shoulder and looked to Dareth confused. "Cole, are you okay?"

Cole didn't answer again and instead he moved his body forward to rest his arms and chest on his legs. Lloyd and Dareth were leaning over him trying to figure out what was happening, Jay was twitching in his sleep. At the same time a doctor came out of the employees only room with Nya.

The doctor saw the scene rushed to Cole and kneeled in front of him. "I need some doctors!" No one knew what was happening but from the shout Jay woke up.

Quickly the room changed from a soundless room to a chaotic stagger. Three doctors surrendered Cole and tried to get answers from him. One doctor wheeled in a wheel chair while two others tried to get him to stand up. Once Cole was moved to the wheel chair, he was gone.

Nya was still standing in the same spot she was in when she walked out of the back room with the doctor. She has no signs of injuries or bandages. She had a bottled water in her hand and she looked to the others.

"What the heck just happened? Is he okay?" Nya asked and Jay looked to her so fast.

"Nya!" Jay said in surprise and with a sadness in his voice. He stood up and ran to her and hugged her. Jay started to tear up again and he sniffed. "I'm sorryyyyy" he slurred into her shoulder. Nya looked to Lloyd and Dareth confused and patted Jay on the back.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Nya said and guided Jay to the chairs. They sat down and Jay continued to sniff. "What happened with Cole?"

Lloyd shrugged, "I don't know. Dareth and him were talking normally and suddenly he started to hold his chest and freak out. What about you? Are you okay?"

Nya gulped down some water. "I'm fine. I woke up with a headache and the doctor gave me some medicine for it." Nya looked around to the group and saw no injuries from them. "What happened after I was knocked out?"

Jay sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "Clouse is back to the Cursed Realm thanks to Kai."

Nya rose her eyebrows in confusion. "Thanks to Kai?"

Dareth was lost but he listened and watched them all speak. They all explained what happened to each other and Dareth slowly understood the situation. There was a ghost and now there is no ghost.

While they talked the employees only door opened and a single doctor came out. "Lloyd Garmadon?"

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter ended awkwardly. The chapter was supposed to be longer but I ended up cutting it in half so the next chapter has the juicy stuff. (juicy? Idk) I'm in the middle of moving houses so I was shocked I had the chance to post at all today. :) Enjoy!**


	11. Two Rooms, One Tomb

Chapter 11

Lloyd perked up and walked over to the doctor. The others exchanged looks of confusion.

The doctor began to talk quietly to Lloyd so the others wouldn't hear. "I don't want to frighten you but we don't know how to help Cole. Because he is a ghost we aren't able to find out what to do."

Lloyd's face paled and he looked shocked. The others didn't hear what the doctor said but from Lloyd's face it scared them.

"We were hoping you could come back and help us." The doctor asked and Lloyd nodded.

"Okay" Lloyd whispered and the doctor opened the door for him. The employees only door led to a hallway of activity. Doctors and nurses scrambled around grabbing things or disappearing behind a door to his right. The first door they passed on the right was label 'Kai Smith'. Lloyd almost stopped in his tracks to see Kai but he continued to follow the doctor. The second door was not label and that was the door they stopped at.

"We were barely able to get him into the bed. Our hands kept going right through him." The doctor commented and opened the door. The first thing Lloyd heard was Cole groaning in pain. Lloyd quickly walked to Cole's bed side and looked down at him.

Cole was on his back with his arms over his chest. His hands were clawing that his shirt and his eyes were closed.

"Cole! I'm here to help you." Lloyd reassured and Cole opened his eyes. It was noticeable now that Cole's hands were shaking. "What's wrong?"

Cole gulped and his breathing pattern was all over the place. "Ch-chest.."

Lloyd looked from Cole's eyes to his chest. Cole's arms blocked his view but Cole slowly moved his arms to his sides. Cole gripped the bed sheets and closed his eyes tight.

"Cole can you make yourself solid for me? Dr. uhh-"

"Dr. Daniels." The doctor answered and Lloyd nodded to him.

"Dr. Daniels wants to help you. He will help get rid of the pain." Lloyd convinced and Cole shook his head. "I know it hurts and it's hard to focus but we want to help. Okay?"

Cole nodded once and began to focus. His form was flashing from transparent and solid. Dr. Daniels was on the other side of the bed, ready with a needle. His hands had the tight latex gloves and he had a mask over his face. Lloyd grabbed Cole's closest hand and squeezed it to comfort him.

Once Cole's form was solid Dr. Daniels acted quickly and carefully. He put the needle in Cole's forearm and the tubing for the IV replaced the needle. Painkiller started to make it way into Cole's body and he started to relax and pant on the bed. Dr. Daniels attached a clip to Cole's pointer finger and the sound of his irregular heart filled the room.

Cole's breathing was still unsteady but he wasn't tense or groaning in pain anymore. Lloyd continued to eyed Cole's chest as it rose and fell in an awkward pattern.

"Cole what happened?" Lloyd asked quietly and Cole slowly moved his head to face Lloyd. Cole opened his eyes and blink rapidly. He looked like he was going to pass out.

"My chest... has been hurting... since Clouse... punched me." Cole every few words would gasp for a breath. Dr. Daniels lifted the front of Cole's shirt to reveal bruising on his chest.

"Looks like you have bruised or broken ribs." The doctor observed and moved his stethoscope to Cole's chest. "Take a slowly deep breath."

Cole did as instructed but his face scrunched up in pain despite the medicine. Dr. Daniels continued this a few times in different places.

"Alright Cole, you could possibly have a creaked rib. It's not like I can put a cast on your torso so it will have to heal on it's own. To provide it from worsening; no twisting, lifting, or fighting. I will have to get you in a CAT scan to make sure your organs aren't punctured." Dr. Daniels said and left the room. Lloyd and Cole were shocked and looked to each other.

Cole closed his eyes and rested his head on the pillow behind him. "I didn't think... ghosts had...heart beats.." Cole said through gasps of air. "At least I know I can't die." Cole let out in one breath and Lloyd squeezed Cole's hand.

"Think positive thoughts Cole." Lloyd said not really knowing what else to say.

Cole sighed and gasped for air after. "Tell the others... I'm okay... not to... worry" gasped out and squeezed Lloyd's hand.

Before Lloyd could say anything Dr. Daniels and three other doctors came in and started move around Cole's heart monitor and IV. They begun to move Cole's bed from the wall and Lloyd's hand slipped away from Cole's.

"I'm sorry Lloyd but we need to take Cole to get some x-rays and a CAT scan. I talked to the doctors that are taking care of Kai Smith and told them that you have been helping us. I convinced them that you should be allow to see Kai." Dr. Daniels came to Lloyd's side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What about my friends?" Lloyd asked and looked to the doctor. Lloyd was lead out of the room and Cole's bed was rolled out and down the hallway.

"Don't worry. They will be allowed to visit as well. But I want to let you know that because you are being able to see Kai early it means he might not be looking his best." The doctor continued to have his hand on Lloyd's shoulder and walked him to Kai's door.

"Well I would expect him to already not be looking good." Lloyd said quietly and Dr. Daniels patted Lloyd's shoulder.

"I have to catch up with my team now. If there are doctors in there I will have to ask for you to stay out of the way. We want to help Kai. Okay?" The hand left his shoulder and Dr. Daniels started to jog after the group of doctors that wheeled Cole's bed away.

Lloyd sighed and whispered, "Okay." He grabbed the door knob and entered the darker room. There were two doctors hovering over the bed helping Kai. Lloyd couldn't see Kai because they blocked his view. What Lloyd could see was bandages wrapped around Kai's right leg. The heart monitor displayed Kai's heart rate and it was a slower pace.

Lloyd stepped more into the room and nervously closed the door behind him. The sound of the door alerted the doctors of Lloyd's presence. They turned their heads to Lloyd.

One doctor spoke, "Hello Mr. Garmadon." The other doctor nodded a hello to Lloyd and returned to what ever he was doing.

Lloyd step away from the door and walked slowly to the bed. "Please.. call me Lloyd."

The doctor that spoke from before glanced at Lloyd again. "Well Lloyd, I'm Dr. Roberts. I hope the appearance of your friend doesn't freak you out. He has been through a lot."

Lloyd neared the top of the bed by Kai's head and he could now see Kai fully. He stood next to Dr. Roberts has he worked.

Kai had an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and with each breath the mask fogged up. Kai still looked bad from when they found him but some of his injuries were covered up now.

The doctor that didn't speak was on the other side of the bed tending to the burn on Kai's left hand. The doctor, Dr. Roberts, next to him was finishing a stitch for the cut on Kai's forearm.

Lloyd put his hands on the rail of the bed and refrained from touching him. Lloyd didn't want to touch Kai in fear he could cause him pain.

All of the sudden Kai's body tensed up and his hands tightened to a fist. Lloyd looked to the doctors who where looking to each other, Kai, and machines attached to him. The doctor that was working on Kai's burnt hand moved to the top of the bed across from Lloyd.

Kai's body jerked and the doctor on the other side of the bed lifted Kai's oxygen mask to reveal blood streaming from his mouth. That sight changed the mood of the room instantly. Dr. Roberts pushed past Lloyd and looked down at Kai.

The unnamed doctor pressed a call button that signaled more doctors and nurse to come. Kai's body continued to jerk and twitch while Lloyd watched frightened.

"W-what's happening? Is h-he okay?" Lloyd trembled and fidgeted nervously behind the panicked doctors. The only answer Lloyd got was the other doctor hitting the security button.

"Wait! Is he going to be okay?! W-what's going on?!" Lloyd asked when doctors and nurses rushed in. They begun to surround the bed and shout out phrases that didn't make sense to Lloyd.

Security came in quickly after the other doctors and nurses. They grabbed Lloyd's arms and tried to lead him out of the room. Lloyd fought back and held his ground.

"Wait! Stop! KAI!" Lloyd pulled against the beefy security guards. He could overpower them easily on a normal day but with the emotions running through him and the fear of hurting someone, he was dragged out. "Stop! Let go of me!"

Lloyd kicked and jerked but the security guards kept a strong grip on the green ninja. They pulled him out of the room and through the waiting room door all while screaming. "LET GO! KAI! Please I have to see him!"

The guards let go of him and the door was closed quickly behind him. Lloyd turned around and banged on the door. "KAI! NO!" And he cried.

* * *

 **Sorry that this chapter came out at night instead of day time. I'm in color guard for marching band and I'm also captain of the team so I was at school all day. Also I tried posting the chapter a few times and I was getting errors and had to start over the posting process. Anyway hopefully you enjoyed this chapter! :)**

 **What in the world do you think happened?**


	12. Frightening Situation

Chapter 12

Nya, Jay and Dareth sat confused to why Lloyd was taken to the back room by a doctor. He looked worried and to leave without saying anything to them was suspicious. For a while no one spoke and only stared at the door waiting to see Lloyd appear.

"Do you think it's about Cole or Kai?" Jay asked in a quiet voice. He still had tears in his eyes from seeing Nya okay. Jay's presence was more child like from his crying and the way he hugged his knees on the chair.

Nya rubbed Jay's shoulder to calm him down. "We can't be too sure what's going on. What happened to positive thinking, Jay?" Nya tried to spark Jay's optimism but he just sighed.

"Everyone thinks it's annoying." Jay pouted and rested his chin on his knees. He looked straight ahead to avoid her eyes.

"And who is everyone? I'll make sure they understand that with positive thinking comes easier times. You might think it's silly and people might say it is but it really helps us in the long run." Nya insisted and finally got a response. Jay turned his head to her and smiled.

The moment was interrupted by Dareth. "Uh Nya?" Nya glanced at Dareth, "Is Zane supposed to do that?"

Nya snapped to look at Zane so fast she could have gotten whiplash. "No.." She sprung to her feet and got on her knees on the chair next to Zane.

Zane was twitching and sparking while still shut off. His body didn't look affected at all from the fight but maybe something from the inside was broken.

Nya's hands hovered over Zane while she tried to come up with an idea. Jay joined her to kneel in front of Zane.

"Maybe something is broken?" Jay thought and placed his hands on Zane's knees. The sparks of electricity was absorbed by his element so it would be easier for Nya to help Zane.

Before Nya could touch Zane, his upper half sprung forward and he almost hit heads with Jay. He was panting and clearly turned on now.

"Zane are you alright?" Nya questioned and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Zane shuddered and sat up in the chair, "I'm alright. I was trying to turn myself back on but I was having difficulties... like there was a barrier trying to stop me. Probably something to get checked later."

"Something within your programing?" Nya asked and Zane turned his head to her. Zane now looked completely fine as if there was no problems.

"Most likely, yes. Remind me not to power down at night till it gets fixed." Zane added and eyed Jay.

Jay breathed out in relief, "Thank goodness you're okay. I was starting to think everyone was slowly going to show that they were injured somehow."

After that was said Zane looked around confused. "Where are the others?"

At that moment, screams could be heard from the other side of the wall. The longer it went on for, the louder it got. The screams from someone got closer. The waiting room was tense and everyone's eyes were fixed on the door.

Suddenly, the door opened and out came Lloyd but not how you would expect. He was being dragged out by four security guards. Lloyd was thrashing, crying and screaming. "LET GO! KAI! Please I have to see him!"

The scene was definitely a rare one and it was really confusing. Once the door closed behind Lloyd and the guards were gone, Lloyd turned and pounded on the door while on his knees. "KAI! NO!"

Zane was the first to act and he got to his feet despite the scare he just gave the others. He crouched next to Lloyd and rubbed Lloyd's back as he cried.

"What is the cause of your distress? Can you explain what happened?" Zane asked quietly to comfort Lloyd.

Lloyd breathed raggedly trying to catch his breath. "H-he..." he gulped down harshly trying to breath through the crying. "I don't k-know happened.. but Kai-"

Lloyd stopped as he was getting choked up on his words. He turned to cry into Zane's shoulder and Zane wrapped his arms around Lloyd's back.

Zane rubbed Lloyd's back and continued to speak in a soft manner. "Can you explain Kai's symptoms? I can tell you what was going on if I know what happened."

Lloyd sniffed and moved his head away from Zane's shoulder to look him in the eyes. He nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Kai started jerking around and h-he spat up blood." Lloyd had tears in his eyes and he sniffed again. "It was really scary.. d-did he die?"

Lloyd asked that last part quietly so Nya wouldn't hear. She was already crying from hearing that her brother wasn't doing well.

Zane hummed to himself. "Jerking around sounds like a seizure and the spitting up blood is most likely from the water in his lungs. We have already witnessed Kai throw up blood but a seizure is a new symptom that can be dangerous. I can assure you Kai is fine."

Lloyd let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and he sniffed back the tears. "Really?"

That question was easy to answer but the way Lloyd said it really reminded Zane that Lloyd was just a kid in an older body. Zane smiled to Lloyd and patted his shoulder.

"Yes, really." Zane stood and helped Lloyd from the ground. He guided Lloyd to a chair and they both sat across from Jay, Nya, and Dareth.

"Is Kai okay?" Nya asked with tears running down her face. Jay and Dareth were on both sides of her trying to comfort her but she wouldn't rest till she had an answer.

Zane nodded with a gentle smile. "Kai will be alright. Lloyd was just frightened because he didn't understand the situation at hand."

Lloyd sniffed with his runny nose. "Sorry to freak you guys out."

Dareth spoke up, "No worries, kid. I still don't understand most of what's going on."

After that statement and the heavily guarded entry doors opened and in came Misako.

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual. I have had no time to write this week. My childhood friend visited me for the first time (I moved away) and I haven't seen her in a year. I was spending time with her and I also had an in town band camp (four days). I also have another band camp literally in an hour so I will be back Thursday to start writing again. Thank goodness I posted a chapter at all!**


	13. Smile and Wave

Chapter 13

As Cole's bed was being moved to get x-rays and a CAT scan he slowly started to loose consciousness and his world started to darken. Dr. Daniels rushed to catch up with the bed being wheeled away. He had just finished talking with Lloyd and given him clearance to see Kai.

Dr. Daniels quickly grabbed Cole's arm and shock him a bit. "Hey wake up. We still need you with us for a bit. I'll let you get some shut eye after the x-rays and CAT scan." Cole didn't moved or response. "Cole!"

Cole twitched his eyes open from the sound of his name. Opening his eyes did nothing because of the intense blurs he saw.

"Good. Keep your eyes open or I'll have to give you a shot of adrenaline." Dr. Daniels said with his hand still on Cole's arm and staring at the path ahead. Cole was more alert now from hearing about a shot.

Suddenly a melody played from the ceiling calling more nurses to the only other room in that private area.

Dr. Daniels and the nurses stopped and turned their heads back in the direction of the room. Nurses rushed passed them and the hallway was extremely crowded with the bed being in the middle of it.

Cole was able to keep his eyes open now because of the chaos he was hearing but not able to see. Through the sounds of the rushing people they all heard yelling.

Cole recognized Lloyd's voice and moved to painfully sit up. The medication dimmed the pain but not completely and he cringed as he slowly and wobbly sat up.

Cole wasn't able to sit up entirely but he did hold himself up with a side rail on the bed. The position hurt his chest but he had to know what was going on.

Through the blurs he saw a blob of green being dragged from security. It was obviously Lloyd and he was shouting the whole way out. When the screaming stopped Dr. Daniels sighed and his shoulders drooped down.

Cole gasped for air to speak, "What... happened..." Cole asked and slumped forward to catch his breath.

Dr. Daniels turned to Cole shocked he spoke and that he was sitting up. The doctor slowly lowered Cole to lay back down. "I'm not sure.." He paused and pointed his finger at Cole like a parent would to their child. "No more talking for now. You keep getting way too out of breath."

Cole nodded understand and Dr. Daniels signaled his team to continue on. The bed started to move again and all Cole could do was watch the ceiling and think to himself.

' _What in the world happened?'_

* * *

"Lloyd? Are you alright?" Lloyd turned his head to see his Mom walking their way.

"Mom! What are you doing here?" Lloyd asked and sat up a bit straighter in confusion.

Misako smiled to her son and sat next to him. "Cole told me about what happened and ask me to be here." Her smile disappeared and they watched her eye the room. "Speaking of Cole, where is he?"

Lloyd dropped his head into one of his hands and you could see how stressed out he was. "He's getting a CAT scan and a x-ray."

The others in the waiting room hadn't heard this news yet and Lloyd could feeling the shock radiating from them.

Dareth leaned forward and looked to Zane. He whispered, "What's a CAT scan?"

Zane turned to Dareth, "A CAT scan is a series of x-rays taken at different angles. There is a bed that slides a person inside a tube that spins a camera around the bed to take multiple x-rays."

Dareth's face remained unchanged for a moment as he processed the information. Eventually he went "Ohhhh got it" while nodding. "I've seen one of those in a movie once."

Everyone's faces began to display their concern. "Cole said he's okay and not to worry though." Lloyd waved his hand at them hoping they could relax.

Misako put a hand on Lloyd's closest shoulder. "What about Kai?"

Lloyd's lip quivered slightly and he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Zane saw this and took the opportunity to step in.

"Kai has numerous injuries and some could be fatal if worsened. Kai is suffering from a concussion, lacerations, throwing up, water in his lungs, throat irritation, hunger, a second-degree burn, a snake bite, and more recently.. seizures." Zane didn't like to think about how many injuries Kai had but about how many could easily be fixed.

"My... I'm sorry you all have to go through this. This is hard to go through no doubt, but I believe that everything will turn out right in the end." Misako's eyes landed on Nya. They exchanged small smiles but were interrupted by the TV's static turning back to Gayle Gossip News channel.

 _"We are still live outside of Ninjago's hospital with no new update of what is happening indoors. People have tried and failed to get inside because of the tight security. We have spotted Dareth, a friend of the famous ninja, and Misako, mother of the green ninja, getting through the front doors without being kicked out. It proves that the ninja are in fact inside. But are they hurt or visiting the hurt? We'll be back with a update soon."_ Instead of the TV turning back to static it went to never ending commercials.

Everyone dropped their gaze from the TV and simultaneously looked to the ground. Misako didn't, however, but she looked to everyone. "It seems like the people are worried about you all." Misako stood up from her chair and stood in the middle of everyone and attracted their eyes. "How about instead of thinking about what you've done wrong, why not you all start to make things right? There are crowds of people outside worrying about you, so why don't you show them you're alright? You can go back to the stage at the park from Kai's memorial and make a statement about how everything is going to be okay and you're all still the protectors of Ninjago. Tell them about Kai! Tell them to have hope! And a ninja never quits!" Misako ended with her fists closed tight in determination.

Lloyd stood up and hugged his Mom. "This is why you are the best Mom ever. Thanks Mom." He ended the hug and motioned for his friends to stand. "Come on guys. We have somethings to do. Dareth, you stay with my Mom incase Cole is released."

Dareth saluted, "Sure thing, green ninja!" He sat down gratefully to stay behind for once.

The ninja left the secured room and met with the security guard that was station outside the door. Lloyd brought down his ninja mask and Jay, Zane followed his action. Nya was not in her ninja gi at the time so she settled with crossing her arms.

Lloyd walked up to the security guard. "Can you take us to the roof?"

* * *

 **Hello! :D Tomorrow is my first day of school and its my senior year and I'm freaking out! I'm kind of surprised I never missed an update date for this story. I used to be terrible at keeping an update schedule.**

 **I have two new stories being written and I wanted your opinion on what day of the week I should update each one or when I should release them. The story summaries:**

 **Switched Opportunities (New!)-** The Ninja were fighting the all too familiar mechanic. Everything seemed under control and too easy till it wasn't. The machine goes haywire and something happens to one of the ninja and.. a citizen? Who will it be and why was this machine made in the first place?

 **No Name (New!)-** One of ninja wake up sick and they try to shower before the morning training. Things don't go to plan and they end up late to training. The ninja are worried, upset and impatient that they are late. What happened? Who is sick?


	14. Sugar Coated

Chapter 14

Once the ninja were escorted to the roof by a security guard, they boarded the Destiny's Bounty. They all gathered in the bridge to discuss the plan.

"So Lloyd, what exactly are we doing?" Jay asked and pushed his mask off. With the mask off you could clearly see the look of confusion on his face. "Are we leaving Cole and Kai back there? What if something happens?"

"If something happens, Dareth and my Mom are down there and I trust the doctors to help Cole and Kai." Lloyd answered. "What we are going to do is go to the park and make a statement about what is happening. We are going to reassure everyone that we are ok and that we are still protecting Ninjago no matter what. We are also going to say Kai was found and is being treated in the hospital."

Zane pulled off his mask, "We should be sure to mention that the crowds outside the hospital is a safety hazard."

Lloyd was the last to pull off his mask and he nodded to Zane. "Good idea Zane. If they won't listen to security then maybe they will listen to the ninja." He smiled at the ideas coming together. "Nya, put the Bounty on route."

Nya saluted with a smile, "aye aye Captain Lloyd."

Nya moved to press buttons and flip switches. The Bounty began to come to life and take flight. She put the Bounty in auto pilot so she could change from her casual clothes to her ninja gi.

Lloyd sighed and clasped his hands together, "Alright! The show must go on."

* * *

Back with Misako and Dareth they sat in silence waiting for news on the two injured ninja or on the ninja trying to bring peace to Ninjago.

Suddenly the TV playing commercials changed back to Gayle Gossip and the camera was pointed towards the sky. "Coming in with more news outside of Ninjago's hospital! The ninja are on the move!" Gayle's voice was fast as she trying to get all of the words out and running from the hospital to the news van. They jumped into the van and the camera shock and pointed out the window. The camera zoomed in and focused on the Destiny's Bounty flying in the air. Gayle was driving the van with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding the microphone. She spoke still out of breath. "Just a few moments ago the ninja's flying home, the Destiny's Bounty, started to take flight and head away from the hospital. This raises the question if one of the ninja are even hurt? Were they visiting someone? And where are they headed? Stay with us as we find out live!"

The audio cut out but the camera still recorded live fed of the Bounty.

Misako sighed and shook her head at the TV. "That Gayle Gossip has nothing better to do. She does anything she can to invade in the ninja's lives."

Dareth looked to Misako with his chin resting in his hand. "Well I guess it's her job to follow the ninja around. The ninja are big news right now because of loosing a member."

"Dareth is correct Misako."

A new voice startled Dareth and Misako. They hadn't heard anyone come in. They turned their heads to the heavily guarded door and saw it remained closed but saw someone else in the room with them.

"It's been a while, Wu. The ninja were starting to worry about you." Misako addressed the beard man with a bamboo staff. "How did you know we would be here?"

Master Wu stood before them and simply pointed his staff to the TV. "How could I not?"

Looking at the TV, the news crew was now at the park and pointing the camera at the now occupied stage. The camera paneled up and showed the hovering ship over the park. The camera zoomed in and tornadoes of Airjitzu were clear on the TV screen. On the stage was Jay talking to the mayor. The others were coming down onto the stage using Airjitzu.

The camera zoomed out to get a wide shot of the stage. Gayle and the camera guy rushed to the front of the stage. Surprisingly there was no crowd yet and slowly people started to show up. Gayle reached her arm up as high as she could with her microphone and the camera guy had to point the camera up because of the elevated stage.

"Lloyd Garmadon!" Gayle called and the camera picked up the green ninja turn their direction. He started to walk their way.

"Hello" Lloyd greeted and squatted in front of the camera and Gayle. In the background, the other ninja walked around the stage setting up equipment and talking to the mayor.

"Can you answer a few questions? Ninjago is wondering what is going on and how you all are grieving the death of Kai." Gayle asked and stretched her arm out with the microphone.

Lloyd moved from his squatting position to sit cross legged at the edge of the stage. He pulled his ninja mask off his face to reveal a tear stained face and sweat crusted hair.

"The answers depend on what you want to hear. Do you want the truth or do you want what you want to hear?" Lloyd asked and looked to Gayle instead if the camera.

Gayle stuttered for a moment stunned by Lloyd's question. "I personally would want the truth because it shows a deeper side of the ninja and it will help the citizens understand what is going on."

Lloyd hummed for a moment and never glanced to the camera. "The truth is that today is one of the hardest days I've had to go through in my life."

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is at night and shorter than usual. It was either going to be late or not posted at all. My first week back at school was surprisingly okay.**

 **I have a poll in my profile and it's to decide on a name for a new story. Please help me!**

 **Also I was wondering if anyone was interested in making fan art for the story? Is anyone inspired to draw a scene from the story?**

 **And finally, I would love it if you guys PMed me so I could meet you all! :)**


	15. Stress Free

Chapter 15

Gayle's arm shook and the camera picked up the tremor. She was shocked from Lloyd Garmadon taking off his mask then explaining that he was having a bad day.

Gayle pulled her arm down and spoke into the microphone. "Uhh.. Lloyd Garmadon... can you explain why you had a bad day?" She stretched her arm out again to Lloyd.

The blonde boy wearing green continued to stare at the floor and he gathered his thoughts. "I started off the day at my best friend's funeral..." Lloyd's eyes watered and he rubbed his sleeve over his dripping eyes.

Before Lloyd could continue Gayle rested her hand on Lloyd's knee. "I'm sorry for your loss Lloyd Garmadon."

Lloyd had his hands over his eyes and he laughed at the statement. "I've heard that so many times." His laughs slowly started to turn back to crying.

"I'm so sorry if I made you cry Lloyd Garmadon-"

"No no!" Lloyd sat up finally and his hands left his eyes. "It wasn't you.. it's just this while situation is just so stressful. You know? Everything will be alright though. I know it.."

Lloyd noticed her aching arm and her awkward position against the stage. He reached his arm down to her and she grabbed his hand. Lloyd pulled her up with almost with no effort. Gayle now sat at the edge of the stage next to Lloyd in the frame of the camera.

Gayle gulped and her cheeks went red. She whispered, "Thank you." She cleared her throat trying to get back on track. "You have so much hope after everything that has happened. What makes you so hopeful?"

Lloyd tried to run his fingers through his sweat crusted hair but his fingers got stuck and he had to give up on the movement. Embarrassed Lloyd looked to Gayle. "My friends.. they give me hope." Lloyd shifted in thought. "I guess I'm going to say everything now. I was going to wait till we give a statement but it feels better doing it this way."

Gayle moved the microphone back and forward between them. "Is this about the mission you left on during the memorial or you ninja being at the hospital? I noticed there is a ninja missing here."

The camera scanned across the stage to show the scattered activity of the other ninja and sound guys. They were setting up the stage for a statement but it was clear the number of ninja was lessened. Kai was obviously not there but the ninja that is known for wearing black was not present.

"I'm going to answer all of the questions you have. You guys want the truth but the truth isn't all glamorous like people think it is." Lloyd turned around to glanced at his friends for a moment. They all looked busy and focused on what they were doing.

Lloyd sighed and his eyes found the floor of the stage he sat cross legged on. "The truth is that we found Kai. And he's alive." Lloyd smiled but Gayle was visually stunned.

Gayle acted upon herself instead of the news personal she put on. "What?! That's amazing!" She waved the microphone around in shock. Lloyd let it sink in for a moment and his composure wasn't as excited as expected. Gayle saw how he wasn't as excited as her. "There's a catch.."

Lloyd nodded and brushed away the threatening tears. "Y-yea.." his voice faltered. "He was the reason we were at the hospital."

Lloyd didn't bother with wiping away the tears anymore. It was like he held in all of his tears for this moment. The truth and tears came out now.

Gayle didn't move the microphone back and forward anymore. Her hand that held the microphone rested on her knee now. The voices were still clear through the TV proving that the microphone could still pick up their voices.

"What about Cole Brookstone? Is he at the hospital watching over him?" Gayle asked genuinely worried for the ninja.

Lloyd sniffed and paused his crying. "Cole is at the hospital but in his own room." Lloyd's bottom lip quivered and he continued crying.

"Are you allowed to share their conditions? It seems that this has really affected you." Gayle rubbed her hand on Lloyd's shoulder to comfort him.

Lloyd shook his head, "I can't share their conditions but I can say it's not looking good but everything can only go up from this point on."

Gayle paused for a moment and moved her microphone to Lloyd. "Is there anything that we, the citizens, can do to help?"

Lloyd looked up to Gayle surprised. It was the first time the people of Ninjago asked to help the ninja. He was shocked but it was a good feeling. He turned his head to the camera and it was like he could see every face staring at him through their screen.

"Everyone has to have some hope. I say hope a lot because even if you don't believe in it, there is always a way that hope finds a way to make things better. When things look bad, have hope, smile and everything already looks better. A few kinds words go a long way. A smile can make someone's day. Even if you don't feel happy, a smile can make everyone else's day brighter. I would love for everyone to be kind and believe everything will be okay. A positive community can make our healing process a lot more stress free." Lloyd gave a small smile to the camera and it was like he could feel thousands of smiles radiate from the camera and the atmosphere around him.

Gayle put her hand on Lloyd's shoulder again to grab his attention. "Thank you so much Lloyd for answering some questions. Ninjago now can understand the ninja aren't invincible and are human too."

At that moment Jay came over and crouched next the Lloyd. "Geez you look like a mess." Jay said from behind his mask concealing his own tear stained face. "Ready for your statement?"

Lloyd looked back at Jay and shook his head. "Actually I alright made my statement."

Jay looked to Lloyd, Gayle, Lloyd again and finally to the camera. He stood up and sighed.

"Alright guys time to pack it up!" Jay shouted upset. All of the work the other ninja did was now useless. Lloyd eyed Gayle and shrugged innocently.

"I believe that is my que to go." Gayle said and jumped down from the stage and onto the grass. She stood out of the camera's frame and Lloyd stood up. "Thank you again Lloyd Garmadon."

Lloyd smiled and waved to the camera and Gayle. "It's no problem. Thank you for talking to me. Bye!" Lloyd said and jogged to his friends. They regrouped and boarded the Destiny's Bounty using Airjitzu. The Bounty was then set on a course to the hospital without any other word.

* * *

 **Hi! Sorry I posted at night instead of morning. I was sick and it was hard to write or anything at all today. _Hope_ fully you guys enjoyed!**

 **I also have a poll on my profile for a new story I'm writing. It's to decide the name of the story.**


	16. Simpler Task

Chapter 16

Dark...

Soundless...

Painful...

Those were the only words that described the world around Kai. Everything was dark and soundless and he was in pain.

Kai couldn't remember how he got to this point but he didn't want to be in this void any longer.

Almost as if someone heard his plead, there were sounds around him and his limbs felt heavier. Everything sounded like he was under water, words went through a muffled filter.

Everything wasn't as dark as before but it was still black. Kai tried to move his arm but it only twitched the slightest bit. Instead of trying to move his entire arm he thought about a simpler task.

And it work! Kai moved a finger! But... he couldn't achieve more than that. Kai was able to slowly move his right index finger up and down.

"...mm moving-" Kai only picked out muffles and the word 'moving' from the voices around. "... heart rate!-"

Kai heard a concerning voice, worried about someone's heart rate for some reason. Then he released his breathing picked up and they were talking about him.

"Kai are you with us?.." the voice was clearer but still so far away. He decided to try and wiggle his finger again as a response. He didn't know if he actually moved his finger but he heard excited voices. "Wiggle your finger for yes and straighten your finger for no. Are you in pain?"

Kai didn't know who was talking to him but he trusted them. He wiggled his finger to signify that he was in pain.

"Thank you Kai." The voice sounded closer now and he didn't know who was talking to him. He noticed the pain start to fade away. "Can you open your eyes?"

Kai already attempted opening his eyes but he tried again. Nothing. He was only able to move his finger. He straightened his finger for no.

"I'm glad you can comprehend the yes and no concept. Do you remember what happened?" Kai almost immediately straightened his finger. "I'm sorry to hear that Kai. You'll remember with time. You get some sleep. The ninja will be happy to hear you woke up."

Kai curled up his fingers and allowed himself to fall back into the darkness. He knew he was safe now.

* * *

The ninja were parking the Bounty over the hospital and starting to make their way to the door leading to the stairs.

"Wow Lloyd, I'm impressed. You got emotional on live TV." Nya commented and patted Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd nervously laughed.

"It was a good therapy session, I recommend it for everyone." Lloyd rolled his eyes dramatically and smiled to Nya. "Really I actually feel better."

Jay stopped the group, "Wait, I want to check something." Jay jogged to the ledge of the building. He peeked over and saw the crowds dispersing. Some of the people were looking up at the Bounty and saw Jay looking down at them. They waved to ninja and he waved back. The crowd went on their way and there were no fan girls screams the whole time. "Man Lloyd what ever you said worked. The crowds just left the hospital."

Lloyd shrugged embarrassed, "I just told them the truth and I guess that's what Ninjago wanted to hear."

The ninja continued down to their secret waiting room preparing for more waiting. Once at the locked door, the guard typed in the security passcode and the door opened.

They were stopped in their tracks when they saw Sensei Wu sitting with Misako and Dareth.

"Sensei!" They shouted in confusion and delight. The four ninja ran into the room and crowded around their mentor.

"You're back!-"

"Kai's hurt!-"

"We were so worried!-"

"We fought Clouse!-"

They all spoke at once but were silenced with the single tap of his staff on the tile.

"Quiet my students, I alright know." Sensei Wu responded calm and collected.

"Where were you Sensei?" Lloyd asked breaking the silence.

Wu stood there for a moment stroking his beard and his eyes were closed in thought. "That will be a story for another time."

All of the sudden a doctor bursted out from the back room with frantic nurses and doctors around him. They were shouting things at him while he calmly walked into the waiting room.

"But sir! The patient!"

The doctor sighed and closed his eyes in annoyance. "If you are so worried about the patient maybe you should go help them instead of following me around talking to me about it."

That shut up the crowd of doctors and nurses and they rushed back to the employees only area. The doctor sighed again and massages his temple.

He looked to Lloyd and his expression softened. He smiled, "I'm sorry you had to witness that. Your friend gave the staff quite a scare."

Lloyd shifted his weight and felt sweat fall from his forehead. "Kai or Cole?"

"Oh! My apologies! I'm Dr. Roberts the head doctor taking care of Kai Smith. I believe we already met Lloyd. I'm sorry to call security on you like that. But I really needed to help your friend." Dr. Roberts dipped his head as a sorry.

Lloyd felt embarrassed, "Hey it's ok. If anything I'm sorry for getting in the way."

Dr. Roberts straight up and smiled again. "Alright getting back on track." His smile faltered a little bit. "Kai is ok and that is the main point I want to get out there. Lloyd what you saw was a seizure and I don't want you guys to panic but Kai did wake up."

Everyone tensed up and wanted to ask questions but they let the doctor continue. "It was a good thing he woke up because we were about to write down that he was in a coma."

The ninja paled and Dr. Roberts' smile disappeared. "He couldn't move or talk but he was able to communicate through moving his finger. Moving it up and down meant yes, straightening his finger meant no." He took a breath before starting up again. "I asked if he was in pain, he answered yes. I asked if he could open his eyes, he answered no. Then I asked if he remembered what happened... he said no."

Dr. Roberts bit his lip and waited for a response. Scanning over the ninja, they all had different reactions.

Lloyd was shocked, his jaw was dropped and his brain was filling with questions. Zane seemed calm on the outside but it was like his mechanisms were failing on the inside. Jay was a mess, he had tears in his eyes and he was shaking. Nya was sobbing in Misako's arms while Sensei Wu stood collected, stroking his beard. Dareth was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands.

Dr. Roberts tried to smile comfortingly but it looked forced. "On the bright side he is on the road to recovery and he will be just fine."

That seemed to help everyone relax more but the ninja were still stressed and worried.

"Did the seizure cause any serious problems?" Zane spoke up with his hand to his chin and his eyes to the floor.

Dr. Roberts straight up and he became more professional. "Kai did not suffer any long term effects from the seizure. There is a chance for smaller after effects that aren't life threatening."

Lloyd looked between Zane and the doctor. "Would it happen again?"

Dr. Roberts played with the trim of his scrubs. "To be honest there is no telling. I'm sorry. I can prescribe him medication if it does happen again."

"That would be helpful thank you." Zane relaxed more and everyone in the waiting room was overwhelmed.

For the second time the employees only door opened and out came Dr. Daniels. Dr. Roberts and Dr. Daniels looked to each other and exchanged a smile.

"Hey everyone. It looks like you need some good news. Hopefully I can help." Dr. Daniels commented and he clipped his pen to his clipboard. "Cole was taken to get a CAT scan and we found that his ribs were creaked and were crushing his lungs. It sounds worse than it is but he can breath. He just gets out of breath and it hurts to take deep breaths. His ribs with heal with time and I'll prescribe him pain medication."

Dr. Daniels relaxed his arms and his clipboard fell to his side. "Cole wants to see you guys so we pulled a few strings and we managed to get you all access back there. That means you also get to see Kai. But there are some rules."

The ninja were relieved to be able to see their friends. They visually loosened up and prepared from the rules.

"First of all, you can not interfere with the doctors and nurses. If they are doing something, you can't be in the way. Second, you can't touch any of the medical equipment. Lastly, make sure Kai and Cole are getting rest. We want them to heal, not be distracted by constantly checking if they are okay. Sleep will do them some good."

The group nodded understanding and Dr. Daniels smiled to them. Nya rubbed her eyes and sniffed her sadness away. "W-when can we see them?"

Dr. Daniels walked backwards to the employees only door and opened it for them. "Now."

* * *

 **Hello.. yeaaa I know it's been 3 weeks but I have reasons. Being a senior for school has been hectic, being color guard captain means I have to be at practice every week day, cosplay convention, and I got me a boy. I'm trying not to let life get in the way of writing but today was literally the first free day I have had in these 3 weeks. My schedule is pretty full but I'm trying my best to fit in time to write so I hope you guys can be patient with me. It doesn't mean I'll disappear forever but it's just so you know if I don't update it's because I'm busy.**

 **Thank you all so much for waiting and I hope it was worth the wait! :)**


	17. Talking Hands

Chapter 17

The ninja, Dareth, Misako, and Sensei Wu shuffled behind Dr. Daniels as he led them to Cole's room. Dr. Roberts stopped along the way to go back to helping Kai. Cole was back in the room Lloyd met him in from earlier.

Once the door opened, the ninja saw Cole propped up with a bunch of pillows and he was wearing a hospital gown.

Cole looked sleepy but once he saw his friends he sat up fast and was more awake. He grimaced and held his chest.

Dr. Daniels came to his bed side and put a hand on his arm. "Cole, don't move fast."

Cole nodded and opened his mouth to speak but was already stopped.

"-and no talking." Dr. Daniels added and went to check on the machinery around the bed. There was a few things attached to Cole but it wasn't the scary equipment.

Cole's squinted in frustration and rolled his eyes. The group circled around the bed and tried to come up with questions he could answer without speaking.

"How are you feeling?" Lloyd asked and Cole made a thumbs up to him and turned it upside down. "I'm sorry you're in pain." Cole shrugged in response.

"Is your chest the only thing causing you pain?" Zane questioned Cole. The ninja in the bed leaned against the pillows and he traced his finger along his jaw. Zane's eyebrows went up in worry. "Were you hit there in the fight?" Cole nodded slowly.

"W-what... happened... Lloyd?.." Cole suddenly spoke but gasped between every word.

"Cole! No talking in your condition." Dr. Daniels looked in his direction. After a moment he redirected his eyes to Lloyd. "After I allowed you to see Kai, he saw you being.." he cleared his throat, "...escorted out."

Lloyd cringed slightly and placed his hands on the bed railing. He looked down in shame, "Sorry you had to see that. I was just worried about Kai. Before you try talking again, yes he is ok."

Cole nodded in response and he started to avoid eye contact. Zane took a step closer to the bed and was near the foot of the bed. "Cole, if you would like I can teach you some basic sign language for the period of time you cannot speak."

Cole found himself nodding again and he mouthed, 'thank you'. He smiled to the group but the moment was interrupted by Dr. Roberts rushing into the room.

"Hey guys! Umm.." he stumbled on his words and clasped his hands together. "There have been signs that Kai is waking up but he seems distressed. I don't know if you want to see Kai awake yet but you guys being in the room with him might help him calm down."

The ninja either froze in shock or showed that they were anxious. Cole in his hospital bed looked to Dr. Daniels and pointed to himself.

"Sorry Cole but for now you are restricted to your bed." Dr. Daniels answered the hand motions and Cole slumped down, sad that his friends were leaving but cringed in pain from the movement. Lloyd frowned to Cole and looked to Dr. Roberts, he contemplated leaving or staying behind with Cole.

Misako took a seat in a chair along the wall and Sensei Wu followed the act. "Don't worry son. You go see Kai and we will keep Cole company."

Lloyd smiled to his mom and uncle, "Thanks" Lloyd looked to Dr. Roberts and nodded. "We're ready."

The ninja followed Dr. Roberts a short distance down the hall to Kai's room. Dr. Roberts grabbed the handle and paused.

"Remember, ninja, you cannot get in the way of the nurses and doctors. Stay calm to help Kai stay calm. Sound like a plan?"

The ninja murmured some 'yes's and yeah's and Dr. Roberts smiled slightly and turned the knob.

Their eyes instantly went to the hospital bed and the sound of the heart monitor was deafening. Kai's pulse on the monitor was fast, it was a definite sign that he was waking up in panic.

The nurses saw the ninja come into the room and they backed away from the bed. Lloyd was the first to quickly approach the bed. He carefully grabbed Kai's hand and he looked over his body.

Kai mostly looked the same from the last time Lloyd saw him but his arm was stitched up and most of the dried blood was cleaned. With his body cleaner it was easier to see that he was covered with bruises.

Lloyd snapped out of his trance and closed his eyes to look away from his injuries. He gently squeezed Kai's hand and he squatted slightly. "Kai... it's okay. We're here now."

A few minutes past and the bed was surrounded by the ninja. Kai's heart rate slowed to a normal pace and the room felt calm. The ninja exchanged glances and everything seemed fine at last.

All of the sudden Kai squeezed Lloyd's hand and his body jerked around. His heart rate started to pick up and the ninja tried not to panic.

Dr. Roberts pushed through Jay and Zane who stood on the other side of the bed. He started to shout terms that didn't make sense to the ninja. Suddenly Dr. Roberts ripped off Kai's oxygen mask to reveal a tube going down Kai's throat.

Lloyd paled and never took his eyes off of Kai, "What i-is that... is he having another seizure?"

A nurse passed Dr. Roberts a tool that looked like tongs. "It's not a seizure." He was rushing his work with his delicate hands and didn't have the time to answer.

Dr. Roberts paused, "If you are squeamish look away." Like a scene from a horror movie Dr. Roberts slowly pulled the tubing out of Kai's throat with the tongs. Jay and Nya quickly turned their heads to avoid seeing more. Jay felt slightly nauseous and he closed his eyes.

Kai's eyes wrinkled in distress and the sounds of him gagging on the tubing outweighed the fast pace of his heart monitor. When the last of the tube came out, Kai sucked in a deep breath of air.

The nurses left with all the tools and parts that came from Kai. Dr. Roberts adjusted a nasal oxygen tube for safe measures. The doctor sighed and stepped back to let the ninja comfort Kai.

"The tube that was in his throat is called a intubation, it is when the body can't fully breathe on its own. The tubing was assisting Kai, especially after the trauma he experienced."

Kai was starting to catch his breath and it was clear that he was waking up now. Lloyd was still holding his hand and he whispered, "It's ok Kai.. we're here."

Dr. Roberts moved around the bed and put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "He answers with moving his finger." The reminder had Lloyd slowly let go of Kai's hand. "Kai if you can hear me remember wiggling your finger up and down is yes and straightening your finger is no. Do you understand?"

And they waited.. the room was silent. The ninja and Dr. Roberts waited till his finger moved. After a while there was nothing and they figured he was just restless instead of waking up.

Then his finger slowly and shakily lifted up and fell back down. His response was late but he signaled 'yes' to the question if he understood.

Lloyd smiled brightly like a child on Christmas day. "Kai! Oh my goodness!" He stopped to control his excitement. "Ok, so you can hear us?"

A few moments later, there was the up and down movement of his finger. Lloyd continued to smile and he glanced to his friends to see they were sharing his relief and happiness.

Nya teared up and she made her way passed Zane and Jay on the other side. "Kai! It's Nya... do you remember what happened?"

His finger didn't move and everyone looked to each other thinking maybe he passed out.

"He said no" Dr. Roberts suddenly said. While everyone was looking at each other they missed that Kai's finger moved again. "He straightened his finger for no."

Zane and Jay was now at the foot of Kai's bed after allowing Nya to be next to her brother. Jay tapped his finger nervously on the bed's railing.

"Are.. are you in pain?" After some silence Jay asked a question and everyone casted sad looks Jay's way. Jay continued to look down at the bed sheets. His eyes would fidget to Kai's hand for the response.

Kai responded quicker than previous times. He signaled, 'no'.

The corner of Dr. Roberts' mouth twitched up slightly. "Glad to know the pain killers are doing it's job."

It was a weird interaction with Kai because he appeared to be asleep but he was actually communicating through the movement of his finger.

For a while, the group watched Kai's chest rise and fall. It was not an awkward silence, but more of a relief to be in Kai's presence.

A few minutes passed and some of the ninja grabbed chairs to sit around the bed. While Lloyd turned his back to Kai to grab a chair, he heard him suck in a shaky breath. Before, Kai's mouth was closed and he was breathing through the tubes in his nose. But now Kai's mouth was open, and he was taking in deep breaths.

Lloyd forgot he was grabbing a chair and quickly turned back to Kai. His immediate reaction was to grab Kai's hand to comfort him but he stopped himself remembering that his finger movements were the only way to communicate.

"You ok, Kai?" Lloyd asked trying not to show his panic. Kai switching breathing from his nose to his mouth wasn't something alarming, but it was a change in his condition in a way. Considering his throat and lung trauma, it could be painful for Kai to take deep breaths.

"Yeah.." An answer that was followed by coughs and Lloyd wasn't quite expecting. Kai had just answered him!

* * *

 **Hello everyone! Right away I want to say sorry for my disappearance. It is my senior year in high school, I have marching band, a piano concert at the White House (the trip was amazing), and finals. I had a full schedule almost daily and I needed to stay on top of my grades. I am currently on winter break and I can't explain how free I feel. I have had time to write again and I'm so happy! I want to know if you guys could recommend me some stories to read from Ninjago or MARVEL Avengers. I have been reading so much that I literally can't find things to read anymore. I have to admit that I did have slight writers block but now that I have time to write, I feel inspired. It took almost an hour writing this update paragraph because my phone keyboard is broken. That will not stop me from writing. :) Thank you all so very much for sticking around. I appreciate everyone of you. I will start responding to reviews in my chapters. Thank you 3**


	18. Contagious Tears

Chapter 18

Kai's hospital room stood frozen in time. They had just heard Kai answer Lloyd.

For the first time, Doctor Roberts seemed stunned by Kai. "Oh my word.."

Kai's coughs settled and he cleared his throat. His opened one eye with a grimace. Zane moved quick to turn off the lights.

"T-thanks.." Kai spoke again and Doctor Roberts took a step forward with one hand on his chin and his other arm holding his stomach.

"I don't know if it is best for you to talk in your state Kai. Does it hurt?" The doctor asked showing his concern and trying to be professional.

"Not much.." Kai's voice was raspy and he managed to open both eyes and he scanned the room. He cleared his throat again and took a deep breath. "Where's Cole?"

He tried to sit up, worried about Cole. He arms burned and shook in pain then his chest felt suffocating and he couldn't catch his breath.

Kai opened his mouth to suck in a breath but nothing came but a pained groan. His arms failed to hold him up and he collapsed back onto the bed. He moved his arms to hold his chest.

His ears rang and he vision went black. He struggled to breathe and he coughed till he took in air.

"That's it Kai... breathe." Kai opened his eyes and took deep breaths. He turned his head to the voice and saw Lloyd.

"What... happened?" Kai whispered but his voice was heard by everyone in the room.

"Moving hurt your chest and arms. If you want to sit up we could move the bed." Lloyd answered but Kai wasn't satisfied.

"No no I mean what happened? Why am I in a hospital?" Kai asked again and Lloyd paled.

"U-uhhh..." he glanced around the room. Lloyd received a nod from Zane and he felt ready to continue. "We went on a mission.. and fought Clouse at the gorge."

Kai laid back and his head faced the ceiling. His eyes wandered the ceiling as the memories swarmed him. The words 'mission' and 'Clouse' weren't what brought his memories back but the word 'gorge' did. The traumatizing memories of throwing up blood, hugging himself in the cold night till he slept, trying to keep himself from falling into a deadly sleep. The fear of death crawling closer than ever in his life. The unknown of his surroundings and his condition. It was like he was back in that hell hole.

Kai shuddered and held himself. His arms ached, his snake bitten leg throbbed, and his chest... it felt as if his rib cage was crushing around his lungs. His breathing picked up and his body shook with on coming sobs.

'It's not real. It's not real!' Kai kept repeating to himself and coughed into the sand and rocks. Blood began to soak the ground around him.

"Kai breathe!" Lloyd's voice was louder than his thoughts and he sucked in a deep breath and tears ran down his temples.

Kai saw the ceiling again instead of the sand and rocks. Above him there were heads of his concerned friends leaning over the bed rail.

"Kai..." Nya tried to comfort him but she broke out in her own tears. The ninja carefully held Kai's bandaged hands and arms to comfort him as he cried.

* * *

A few hours passed and the room was silent and ninja were in their own chairs around the bed sleeping against the bed's edge or each other. Dr. Roberts and the nurses left them to rest as Kai was in a stable state.

Kai's eyes slow fluttered open and his eyes scanned the room around him. Nya and Zane were at Kai's left. Nya had her hand over Kai's and Zane's arms were crossed on the bed and his head gently laid over them. Kai moved his eyes to the right and saw Lloyd and Jay. Lloyd looked relaxed in his sleep and his hand rested on top of Kai's arm. Jay was leaning on Lloyd in his sleep.

Kai smiled that the sight. ' _They really care for me.'_ Then he frowned remembering that the last time he was awake, he had a panic attack. Kai's eyes started to water and his breathing picked up. ' _Don't cry don't cry don't cry-_ '

Kai slowly moved his left hand out from Nya's hand because it was easier to move out of her grip without waking her. He wiped his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

' _What is wrong with me? I never cry! Why do I get so freaked out when I think about the gorge?!'_ Kai shivered and closed his eyes _._ His fast paced breathing hurt his chest and he gasped for air. He held his breath trying to be quiet and not wake the others. He released his breath and he couldn't stop himself from coughing.

Kai quickly swiped his other arm from Lloyd and he coughed. His chest and throat felt crushed and burned. Lloyd began to wake up and he looked around confused and tired. He shifted Jay off him and he laid Jay's head on the bed. Lloyd leaned forward and he touched Kai's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd whispered and Kai shook his head. Nya began to stir and she squeezed her eyes tight. After opening her eyes and processing the situation she shot up and looked to her brother.

"Kai?" Nya called out to him and he continued to cough. Kai gagged and as a reflex Lloyd grabbed a trash can.

Once Kai's chin touched the bins rim, he started to spit up blood.

Nya covered her mouth in fear. Lloyd reached for the call button.

Kai started to catch his breath and he had a line of blood going from his mouth to his chin.

"Guys I'm fine.." Kai forced himself to say. His voice was raspy and he cleared his throat.

"No Kai you're not. That-" Lloyd pointed to the bin resting on Kai's lap. "-is not normal"

Kai spit one last time into the bin for good measure. "This has happened before.."

Lloyd looked Kai in the eye, "I know...l-I saw on the island.. and earlier when you had a seizure.."

Kai's eyebrows went up in shock. "A s-seizure?"

The door was pushed open and Dr. Roberts came in. He was still dressed in his scrubs but his hair was a mess. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Kai's spitting up more blood." Lloyd answered quickly and Kai sighed.

"I'm fine.. really. I just need a tissue." Kai insisted and he tried to move the bin to the ground. Lloyd grabbed it from him because he couldn't reached. Dr. Roberts grabbed a tissue box.

"Kai this is serious.. You may have damage your lungs or throat." Dr. Roberts passed the tissue box to Kai.

"But I don't feel as bad as before." Kai continued as his cleaned his chin.

"That would be because of the pain medication. You need some time to heal, so please... take it easy.. for all of us."

"But I wasn't doing anything! I was coughing!"

"I was saying it overall. I trust you Kai. You have to trust me too." Dr. Roberts ran his fingers through his hair and Lloyd noticed how tired he looked. "I'll go talk to the other doctors to see if we can get you set up for a CAT Scan. For now... get some rest.."

He left after he quickly glanced over all the equipment. Nya was sitting back in her seat rubbing her tired eyes and Lloyd was holding the bed railing while looking at the ground.

Kai tried not to look at them so he looked to the other two who were still sleeping or looked to be waking up. Kai noticed that Zane was twitching and sparking in his sleep. His eyes widened and he tried to sit up.

Kai held his chest in pain and he sucked in a breath. He squinted his eyes shut in pain.

"What's wrong Kai?" Lloyd asked now looking from the ground to his hurting friend.

As Kai caught his breath he pointed to the nindroid.

"Zane!"

* * *

 **Hey! I'm back! I got some inspiration to write again and now that it is Monday I can post. My phone keyboard is still broken and it is so hard to write. It was just recently my birthday and now I'm an adult. :/ I'm in winter guard and a musical so it will be hard to post.**

 **What do you think happened to Zane? (Hints are in other chapters)**


	19. Blank Eyes

Chapter 19

Zane's body looked calm but occasionally he would twitch and his face would tense up and spark.

Jay sprang awake after hearing his friends call out to Zane. He blinked lazily and his attention followed the other stares.

Jay quickly stood up and reached across the bed and rested a hand on Zane's head. The sparks stopped but Zane continued to twitch.

Nya joined in assisting Jay. Nya moved Zane's body to lean side ways on the bed and his arm right arm fell off the bed to show more of Zane's face.

"Not again! Not again! I forgot to remind Zane to not shut down! This is my fault!" Nya exclaimed while she worked her way to open Zane's chest door.

Jay continued to calm the sparking with his elemental power and he said, "Your fault?! I'm at fault too! I can't believe I'm so dumb to forgot that we all are struggling right now."

Lloyd glanced between the two, "Wait what's going on? This has happened before?"

Jay awkwardly stretched across the bed and over Kai's legs looked to Lloyd and realized that they also forgot to inform Lloyd of Zane's situation.

"Wow I'm a terrible friend... When you were in the back, Zane was shut off to self heal or whatever and this happened when he tried to turn on." Jay explained and Lloyd took a deep breath to contain himself.

"How did you fix him before?" Lloyd asked as he inched closer to help in anyway he could.

"We didn't! He turned on before we had the chance to do anything!" Jay answered as he shifted around the bed while keeping a hand on Zane's head.

Nya manage to get Zane's ninja gi open to access his chest panel. She opened the chest door and the normal blue glow Zane gives off was going from bright to dim, bright to dim.

"That's not good! He keeps going in and out." Nya reached to checked the wires and she get zapped. She drew back and shook her hand from the slight pain. "Jay you're supposed to prevent him from shocking me."

"Sorry"

Zane's eyes opened slowly and he looked straight ahead and Nya moved into his line of sight.

"Are you with us? You okay?" Nya asked and Zane didn't move or acknowledge that she was there and his eyes slowly closed. She looked up to Jay. "I think when I got close to him he almost woke up. Maybe you should shock him."

"What! Are you nuts?!"

"Jay just do it. He shocked me and almost woke up. So maybe if you shock back? It's worth a shot."

Jay sighed and whispered to himself, "Ok ok ok... this is crazy... I'm not a bad friend." He took a deep breath and sent a little electricity through his nindroid friend.

Zane jerked and his eyes opened. He gasp for air then went limb again. He closed his eyes and he looked calm despite the situation.

"Zane? Zane! Can you hear us?!" Nya asked Zane as he leaned against the hospital bed. Lloyd was hovering over Jay nervously.

"Should I call Dr. Roberts back in here?" Lloyd suggested.

"He's a doctor not a mechanic." Jay said in concentration.

"Maybe he will have something to help? Tools maybe?" Lloyd continued and Jay looked up to him. Before Jay answered Lloyd pushed the call button.

Kai was still holding his chest in pain. He was trying to help Zane but the movement of sitting up was killing him.

Dr. Roberts made record time getting to the room and he still looked staggered. He combed his hair with his fingers as he walked in.

"What's wrong Kai?" The Doctor asked as he came to the bed side.

Kai leaned back on the pillows and hissed in pain. "Not me, him." Kai said and pointed to the sparking nindroid.

Dr. Robots went around the bed to get a better look at Zane. "What happened?"

Nya fidgeted with some wires and she flinched away with each spark. "Something is wrong with Zane's system and I can't figure it out."

Dr. Roberts looked nervous and he grabbed the trim of his scrubs. "I-I uhh... I don't know how to help.. he's a robot-"

"-nindroid!" Jay interrupted.

Dr. Roberts continued, "I can call someone to help."

Lloyd grabbed the bed rail and tried to avoid looking at Zane sparking. "Do you have tools maybe?"

The doctor brightened up, "Yes! There are some in the janitors closet and there is a small generator too."

Jay looked up to him, "Generator? That might help." Dr. Roberts nodded and left to retrieve the tools and generator.

Nya found a split wire and she held the ends together and started to look around. She whispered to herself, "lighter... lighter" She raised her voice, "I need a lighter."

Kai sat up and ignored the pain but he couldn't hide it on his face. He leaned forward as much as he could without disturbing his leg bandages. He reached out his bandage hand to Nya. Kai used his elemental power and lit the tip of his finger on fire.

Nya was shocked at first to see Kai move so much. She moved the wires closer to Kai and he melted them together.

"Thank you, Kai." Nya said and Lloyd help Kai back into a comfortable position.

Kai didn't trust his own voice while in so much pain so he responded with "Mhmm".

Doctor Roberts rushed in with a tool box in one hand and the other pulling in the generator on a cart. A nurse followed him to help steer the generator into the room.

"We have to move him." The doctor announced as he brought the generator to the other side of the hospital bed.

Nya and Jay moved Zane to sit in his chair properly and they pushed it against the wall. The generator was pulled up next to Zane.

A couple of patient minutes later, Zane was hook up to the generator. Nya looked around the room she hesitated over the on switch.

"Here we go." She commented and flicked the switch. The generator roared to life and Zane jerked once in his seat.

Then.. his eyes opened.

* * *

 **Hello! Trying my best to write in my free time but it's a little hard when I don't have free time. Love me. ;-;**


	20. Banning The Word Sorry

Chapter 20

Zane gasped as if coming back to life. His head was tilted back and he stared up at the ceiling. He is a nindroid and it wasn't necessary to intake so much air but at the moment it was all he could do. He panicked thinking about being trapped in his body again. He studied the popcorn ceiling tiles and finally collected himself.

He flinched when a hand touched his arm. "You with us Zane?"

Zane head moved to look straight ahead and saw Nya was the one who spoke and Jay had a hand on his arm. Zane took a deep breath and whispered. "Yes" He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "I'm sorry.."

Jay nearly laughed at that. Zane wasn't doing well and was apologizing. "Zane don't say that. It's not your fault. I was supposed to remind you but with everything happening- never mind I don't have an excuse. I'm so sorry Zane."

Zane continued to have his eyes closed. "I understand Jay." He sighed and yawned. Strange... nindroids didn't need sleep. "I'm tired."

Jay zapped Zane lightly and he snapped up with his eyes open. "Don't sleep Zane. We aren't sure that we can get you back again."

Zane nodded and sat up straight. He glanced down at his open chest panel and his fingers follow along the thick generator wires. He hummed in thought. "A generator? Is that what brought me back?"

Nya stood from kneeling on the ground. "Yeah. You also had a few split wires but they're not what's preventing you from powering back on."

Zane studied his chest panel from an awkward angle. "I can not pin point the source of the problem."

Nya inched closer, "Maybe the problem isn't where we think it is." Nya reached for Zane face plate, "Can I?"

Zane nodded, "Of course."

Nya unlatched the face plate and Zane's eye fell out still attached by a few wires. Zane reflexes caught the eye and he held it to his chin.

Nya cringed and took the eye from Zane. She whispered, "Sorry"

Zane flashed a reassuring smile with the one side of his face that was normal. "Not your fault. It happens far too often."

After awhile of Nya poking around Zane's insides. Lloyd backed up to give them some space and he sat next to Kai who looked ready to pass out any second.

"You doing okay?" Lloyd asked Kai again for the hundredth time.

Kai rolled his eyes and gave Lloyd a 'for real' expression. "I'm doing great Lloyd" he answered sarcastically.

Lloyd leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Sorry... force of habit."

Kai shifted and grimaced, "It's fine."

Lloyd looked away from Nya messing around with Zane's eye. "You in pain?"

Kai sat up and stretched, "Well that drop wasn't exactly a smooth ride."

Lloyd eyed him, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kai shrugged and fidgeted with the bandages on his left hand. "There's not much to say. Just a bunch of throwing up and trying to keep myself awake."

Lloyd looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry"

Kai flicked Lloyd on the shoulder with his good hand. "I'm banning the word sorry. Besides, it's not your fault."

Lloyd scratched his neck from his nerves. A new topic made him nervous. "Kai... when you get well enough you might have to... make a statement for Ninjago."

"What? Why? How long was I gone?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.

Lloyd looked sadly to him. "Long enough to declare you..." He watched Kai's expression change, "...dead."

Kai looked away and his thoughts were jumping all over. ' _That explains why everyone is watching over me.'_

Kai saw how sad Lloyd looked probably thinking about similar things. He decided to change the subject. "So no one explained how I was rescued or what happened to Cole... He's okay, right?"

Nya was putting Zane's eye back into place and she looked to Kai in the hospital bed. "You have the worst of the injuries by far."

Eventually the ninja explained what happened with the rescue; from finding the smoke trail and fighting Clouse.

Kai leaned back on his propped up pillows and processed everything. "Hmmm... that actually makes sense. I remember building the fire, which was really hard to do with my leg. I was trying to stay awake because I was worried I wouldn't wake up. Sooo... I burned my hand." Kai said while waving his bandaged hand and Nya cringed. "I kind of remember being on the Bounty. Everything was a blur but I remember trying to help."

Jay smirked, "And you did a great job, might I add! Clouse never saw it coming!"

The corners of Kai's mouth twitched up for what he believes is the first time since the gorge. He dropped it quickly. "What about Cole?"

Lloyd leaned forward and rested his head on his hand. "Because he's part ghost, Clouse got the most hits on him. He has some creaked ribs and they're crushing his lungs." Kai gasped but Lloyd continued. "The doc says it sounds worse than it is. He should heal up fine on his own. But for awhile he can't talk and fight. It gets him too out of breath."

Kai nodded, "Can I see him?"

Those who were around the bed looked sad. "The doctor said that Cole has to stay in bed to avoid moving his ribs too much. Your doctor said nearly the same thing for you. You have to get your strength back." Nya stated while helping Zane put his face plate back into its spot.

Lloyd stood from his chair and all eyes were on him. "Maybe I can talk to the doctors to see if we can move you both in a bigger room together."

Kai smiled and rested his head on the pillows. "I'd like that."

Lloyd left and soon Kai fell asleep.

* * *

The next time Kai woke up he noticed that there were bright lights. He wanted to wake up but the lights made them want to keep his eyes shut.

Almost like his mind was read, the lights turned off and he relaxed. He tiredly open his eyes and saw his surroundings were different. Instead of Lloyd sitting next to him, it was Jay. Looking past Jay, he saw another bed and the person on it was staring at him.

Too tired, Kai didn't move to sit up. He waited for his eyes to clear and he saw Cole sitting up looking to him.

Kai was a bit more awake now that he saw his ghost friend. He lifted his head from the pillows and realized that his bed was laying flat instead of being propped up.

Cole pointed to Kai then his hand made the okay symbol. Kai made a thumbs up.

' _Right, he can't talk._ ' Kai thought as he tried to push himself up. His arms wobbled and they nearly gave out but Jay suddenly stepped in to help. The bed shifted upright and Kai held his chest in pain.

Kai violently coughed and he felt light headed. With his bed propped up he leaned heavily on the pillows behind him.

Once his coughing stopped, Kai groaned in pain. He let out a small. "Ow"

He opened his eyes and saw everyone around him. Zane and Nya were sitting at the foot of Kai's bed. Jay was sitting in between Kai and Cole's bed. Cole's bed was to the right of him and Dareth, Sensei Wu, and Misako were at the foot of Cole's bed. Kai didn't noticed that Lloyd was standing at his left, he was holding a trash can ready for Kai.

Seeing that Kai was okay, Lloyd placed the trash bin back into its original spot.

"Glad to finally see you awake, Kai." Sensei Wu broke everyone out of their silence.

Kai went to move his legs to sit cross legged but his right leg with the snake bite barely moved because of the pain it cause him. He cleared his raw throat, "How long was I asleep?"

Zane looked to the ceiling to calculate. "3 hours 29 minutes and 11 seconds." He replied looking satisfied.

Lloyd noticing Kai's raspy throat, he grabbed a cup of water with a straw. "You thirsty?" He presented the cup to Kai.

Kai went to reached for the cup with his bandaged hand and quickly switched arms. Kai shakingly held the cup and slowly sucked on the straw. He was trying not to let anyone see his panic.

' _It's just water.. Literally calm down, Kai. You're not at the gorge. It's just a drink._ ' Kai thought to himself as the water finally traveled through the straw and into his mouth. At first, he felt relief from the water quenching his throat then suddenly he panicked and started to choke.

He coughed continuously and felt the cup leave his hand. His lungs were screaming for a break to breathe. The coughing went on for so long that Kai started to feel light headed. Then something pressed against his face and he could breath. He sucked in the air gratefully while he was wheezing.

Kai started to become aware of the world around him again. He was leaning on the pillows behind him. He recognized the feeling of the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. Kai opened his eyes and saw that Dr. Roberts was holding the oxygen mask in place. Suddenly he released that the doctor was talking but he only heard muffles.

After awhile of tiredly looking around and catching his breath, he started to hear the voices in the room. He couldn't help but murmur an, "Ow" again.

Dr. Roberts adjusted the oxygen mask to stay put on Kai's face. "Kai, can you hear me?"

Kai squeezed his eyes shut trying to block out the physical pain he was feeling. He didn't trust his voice just yet. "Mhmm."

The doctor sighed out of relief and stood up straight. "On a scale of one to ten, how is your pain? One being there is no pain at all. Ten... a lot."

Kai cleared his aching throat. "8"

Dr. Roberts nodded understanding and Kai's IV began to flow with pain killer. After some silence and checking the machines, Dr. Roberts left.

Lloyd put a gently hand on Kai's shoulder. "You okay?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "If I was okay, I wouldn't be here."

Kai was never great with being sick or injured. Most of the time Kai was hurt, he hid it so well that no one knew. He hated to be restricted to the hospital bed and have everyone concerned about him.

Kai was slightly tangled with the wires and IV. "Is this all really necessary?" He said mostly to himself. He felt how the room was tense. "Everything okay? You guys look like you've seen a ghost."

Cole got everyone's attention by moving his hands. Kai didn't understand till Zane interrupted. "He says, ' _I'm right here Kai._ '"

Lloyd sighed, "I think we're just worried with this whole thing. We thought you were dead and now you're in the hospital. It's stressful but we know that you'll be okay."

They nodded in agreement. Kai gave them a smile underneath the oxygen mask. "I'll be up and doing Spinjitzu in no time. I might not feel amazing right now but it's better than nothing." He looked to Cole. "When did you learn sign language?"

Cole pointed to Misako as she smiled. Zane spoke for Cole. "Misako started to teach Cole while we were with you. I downloaded what I now know."

Kai thought to himself for a brief moment. "Maybe we should all learn the basics. That way we can all communicate. I think it'll be fun!" Everyone perked up and seemed excited.

Even Dareth was going to learn!

Cole smiled so wide because they were learning for him. Zane and Misako started to teach the alphabet and some people were faster than others.

Jay would get confused with a and s because of the slight differences. Dareth was a train wrecked but he was trying hard to understand. Sensei Wu, Nya, and Lloyd picked it up quickly. Kai wasn't a fast learner but he wasn't struggling.

Soon they were all spelling out random things and laughing at what they could come up with. They were finally enjoying themselves.

* * *

 **I'm back! If you don't read my other stories I explained my absences. I finally graduated high school and I have time to write fan fictions! But I'm a cosplayer so I have been working on some big projects for an event coming up. (Instagram cosplay account Akaguard)**

 **I'm also Rebooting my old fan fictions from my old account because I've improved in writing and I really want to complete what I started. Keep a look out for the Reboot of Not Average and Serpentine's Rage!**

 **Hopefully you all enjoyed and aren't mad that it took a long time to update! :)**


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